About

I am an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy & Global Affairs. I am also the Director of UBC’s Institute of Asian Research.

I specialize in comparative politics, particularly the political economy of development and ethnic politics. My work primarily focuses on the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Singapore, and has been published in numerous journals including American Political Science ReviewPolitical Science Research and Methods, Politics Groups and IdentitiesPolitical Science, the Journal of East Asian StudiesPacific Affairs, and the Journal of Southeast Asian Economies. I am also a consultant for institutions including the World Bank and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and advise governments in North America and Southeast Asia.

I am currently the Associate Editor (Southeast Asia) at Pacific Affairs, an Associate Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, and an executive committee member of the Southeast Asian Research Group (SEAREG). I was previously Chair of the American Political Science Association’s Southeast Asia Politics Related Group and Vice President of the Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies.

You can find more information about my work on my personal website.


Teaching


Publications

Peer Reviewed:

Editor Reviewed:

Chapters:

  • Ethnic and national identity in Malaysia and Singapore: Origins, contestation, and polarization” in Routledge Handbook of Race and Ethnicity in Asia
  • “Against the Odds: Malaysia’s Electoral Process and Pakatan Harapan’s Unlikely Victory” forthcoming in Francis E. Hutchinson and Lee Hwok Aun Malaysia’s GE14: Missed Signs or Late Surge, Singapore: ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.
  • “Electoral boundaries in Malaysia’s 2018 Election: Malapportionment, Gerrymandering, and UMNO’s Fall” forthcoming in Edmund Terence Gomez and Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman (eds) UMNO’s Fall: Intra-Elite Feuding, the Pursuit of Power and Malaysia’s 14thGeneral Elections”.
  • “Local Elections, Decentralization, and Institutional Reform in Malaysia” forthcoming in Sophie Lemiere (ed) Minorities Matter: Malaysian Politics and People.
  • “Canada’s foreign policy and bureaucratic (un)responsiveness: Public diplomacy in the digital domain” (with Julian Dierkes)in Richard Nimijean and David Carament (eds), Canada, Nation Branding and Domestic Politics. Routledge, 2019 [chapter is reprint of journal article]
  • “National Service and Nation Building: Successes and Limitations of the Singaporean Model” in Ho Shu Huang and Graham Ong-Webb (eds), Citizen/Soldier: National Service in Singapore. 2018.
  • “Democratic Crossroads and Political Transitions in Southeast Asia: Domestic and International Factors” in Southeast Asia in an Evolving Global Landscape, proceedings from the Global Affairs Canada conference on Southeast Asia, 2017.

 

Other Publications:

  • “Singapore’s PAP has little to fear from Malaysia’s political transition” – East Asia Forum, 2018 (with Steven Oliver)
  • “Ethnic diversity matters for decentralisation and development” – East Asia Forum,2018 (with Yuhki Tajima and Krislert Samphantharak)
  • “Centralisation not reconciliation under Najib Razak” – East Asia Forum, 2018
  • “Legitimacy and Longevity in Singapore’s Reserved Presidency” – East Asia Forum, 2017 (with Isabel Chew).
  • “China’s Ambitions Welcomed in Kuala Lumpur?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #388, 2016 (with Phuong Nguyen).
  • “Has Chinese foreign policy in Southeast Asia entered a bolder and more assertive phase?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #342, 2015.
  • “LNG in British Columbia, scandals in Malaysia, and the complexity of policy decisions” – Asia Pacific Memo, #340, 2015.
  • “The many implications of cheap oil in Southeast Asia” – Asia Pacific Foundation, 2015.
  • “Will the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) transform Southeast Asian economies in 2015?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #322, 2015 (with Krislert Samphantharak)
  • “The Perilous Start and Uncertain Future of the Jokowi Era in Indonesia” – Asia Pacific Memo, #311, 2014
  • “The Year in Malaysian Politics: Democracy’s Crooked Trajectory” – Asia Pacific Memo, #310, 2014
  • “Malaysian elections, malapportionment, and redelineation” – New Mandala, 2013.

 

Policy Reports:


Graduate Supervision

I am interested in working with students whose work is relevant to issues of political development, particularly in Southeast Asia.

 

PhD Students (supervision):

  • Isabel Chew (Political Science, 2017 – )
  • Nathan Peng (Political Science, 2017 – )

PhD Students (committee):

  • Fraser GerMann (Anthropology, 2015 – )
  • Faisal Harahap (Resource Management and Environmental Studies, 2015 – )
  • Salta Zhumatova (Political Science, 2013 – )

MA (supervision):

  • Kylie Luu (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2017)
  • Clarrie Ng (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2016)
  • Lotus Ruan (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2016)

MA (committee):

  • Keshav Kelkar (Institute of Asian Research, 2013 – 2015)
  • Peggy Lam (School of Journalism, 2015 – 2017)
  • Michael Zhang (Institute of Asian Research, 2013 – 2015)

Additional Description

www.kaiostwald.meCLICK HERE for an updated version of my CV from my personal website.



About

I am an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy & Global Affairs. I am also the Director of UBC’s Institute of Asian Research.

I specialize in comparative politics, particularly the political economy of development and ethnic politics. My work primarily focuses on the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Singapore, and has been published in numerous journals including American Political Science ReviewPolitical Science Research and Methods, Politics Groups and IdentitiesPolitical Science, the Journal of East Asian StudiesPacific Affairs, and the Journal of Southeast Asian Economies. I am also a consultant for institutions including the World Bank and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and advise governments in North America and Southeast Asia.

I am currently the Associate Editor (Southeast Asia) at Pacific Affairs, an Associate Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, and an executive committee member of the Southeast Asian Research Group (SEAREG). I was previously Chair of the American Political Science Association’s Southeast Asia Politics Related Group and Vice President of the Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies.

You can find more information about my work on my personal website.


Teaching


Publications

Peer Reviewed:

Editor Reviewed:

Chapters:

  • Ethnic and national identity in Malaysia and Singapore: Origins, contestation, and polarization” in Routledge Handbook of Race and Ethnicity in Asia
  • “Against the Odds: Malaysia’s Electoral Process and Pakatan Harapan’s Unlikely Victory” forthcoming in Francis E. Hutchinson and Lee Hwok Aun Malaysia’s GE14: Missed Signs or Late Surge, Singapore: ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.
  • “Electoral boundaries in Malaysia’s 2018 Election: Malapportionment, Gerrymandering, and UMNO’s Fall” forthcoming in Edmund Terence Gomez and Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman (eds) UMNO’s Fall: Intra-Elite Feuding, the Pursuit of Power and Malaysia’s 14thGeneral Elections”.
  • “Local Elections, Decentralization, and Institutional Reform in Malaysia” forthcoming in Sophie Lemiere (ed) Minorities Matter: Malaysian Politics and People.
  • “Canada’s foreign policy and bureaucratic (un)responsiveness: Public diplomacy in the digital domain” (with Julian Dierkes)in Richard Nimijean and David Carament (eds), Canada, Nation Branding and Domestic Politics. Routledge, 2019 [chapter is reprint of journal article]
  • “National Service and Nation Building: Successes and Limitations of the Singaporean Model” in Ho Shu Huang and Graham Ong-Webb (eds), Citizen/Soldier: National Service in Singapore. 2018.
  • “Democratic Crossroads and Political Transitions in Southeast Asia: Domestic and International Factors” in Southeast Asia in an Evolving Global Landscape, proceedings from the Global Affairs Canada conference on Southeast Asia, 2017.

 

Other Publications:

  • “Singapore’s PAP has little to fear from Malaysia’s political transition” – East Asia Forum, 2018 (with Steven Oliver)
  • “Ethnic diversity matters for decentralisation and development” – East Asia Forum,2018 (with Yuhki Tajima and Krislert Samphantharak)
  • “Centralisation not reconciliation under Najib Razak” – East Asia Forum, 2018
  • “Legitimacy and Longevity in Singapore’s Reserved Presidency” – East Asia Forum, 2017 (with Isabel Chew).
  • “China’s Ambitions Welcomed in Kuala Lumpur?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #388, 2016 (with Phuong Nguyen).
  • “Has Chinese foreign policy in Southeast Asia entered a bolder and more assertive phase?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #342, 2015.
  • “LNG in British Columbia, scandals in Malaysia, and the complexity of policy decisions” – Asia Pacific Memo, #340, 2015.
  • “The many implications of cheap oil in Southeast Asia” – Asia Pacific Foundation, 2015.
  • “Will the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) transform Southeast Asian economies in 2015?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #322, 2015 (with Krislert Samphantharak)
  • “The Perilous Start and Uncertain Future of the Jokowi Era in Indonesia” – Asia Pacific Memo, #311, 2014
  • “The Year in Malaysian Politics: Democracy’s Crooked Trajectory” – Asia Pacific Memo, #310, 2014
  • “Malaysian elections, malapportionment, and redelineation” – New Mandala, 2013.

 

Policy Reports:


Graduate Supervision

I am interested in working with students whose work is relevant to issues of political development, particularly in Southeast Asia.

 

PhD Students (supervision):

  • Isabel Chew (Political Science, 2017 – )
  • Nathan Peng (Political Science, 2017 – )

PhD Students (committee):

  • Fraser GerMann (Anthropology, 2015 – )
  • Faisal Harahap (Resource Management and Environmental Studies, 2015 – )
  • Salta Zhumatova (Political Science, 2013 – )

MA (supervision):

  • Kylie Luu (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2017)
  • Clarrie Ng (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2016)
  • Lotus Ruan (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2016)

MA (committee):

  • Keshav Kelkar (Institute of Asian Research, 2013 – 2015)
  • Peggy Lam (School of Journalism, 2015 – 2017)
  • Michael Zhang (Institute of Asian Research, 2013 – 2015)

Additional Description

www.kaiostwald.meCLICK HERE for an updated version of my CV from my personal website.


About keyboard_arrow_down

I am an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy & Global Affairs. I am also the Director of UBC’s Institute of Asian Research.

I specialize in comparative politics, particularly the political economy of development and ethnic politics. My work primarily focuses on the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Singapore, and has been published in numerous journals including American Political Science ReviewPolitical Science Research and Methods, Politics Groups and IdentitiesPolitical Science, the Journal of East Asian StudiesPacific Affairs, and the Journal of Southeast Asian Economies. I am also a consultant for institutions including the World Bank and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and advise governments in North America and Southeast Asia.

I am currently the Associate Editor (Southeast Asia) at Pacific Affairs, an Associate Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, and an executive committee member of the Southeast Asian Research Group (SEAREG). I was previously Chair of the American Political Science Association’s Southeast Asia Politics Related Group and Vice President of the Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies.

You can find more information about my work on my personal website.

Teaching keyboard_arrow_down
Publications keyboard_arrow_down

Peer Reviewed:

Editor Reviewed:

Chapters:

  • Ethnic and national identity in Malaysia and Singapore: Origins, contestation, and polarization” in Routledge Handbook of Race and Ethnicity in Asia
  • “Against the Odds: Malaysia’s Electoral Process and Pakatan Harapan’s Unlikely Victory” forthcoming in Francis E. Hutchinson and Lee Hwok Aun Malaysia’s GE14: Missed Signs or Late Surge, Singapore: ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.
  • “Electoral boundaries in Malaysia’s 2018 Election: Malapportionment, Gerrymandering, and UMNO’s Fall” forthcoming in Edmund Terence Gomez and Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman (eds) UMNO’s Fall: Intra-Elite Feuding, the Pursuit of Power and Malaysia’s 14thGeneral Elections”.
  • “Local Elections, Decentralization, and Institutional Reform in Malaysia” forthcoming in Sophie Lemiere (ed) Minorities Matter: Malaysian Politics and People.
  • “Canada’s foreign policy and bureaucratic (un)responsiveness: Public diplomacy in the digital domain” (with Julian Dierkes)in Richard Nimijean and David Carament (eds), Canada, Nation Branding and Domestic Politics. Routledge, 2019 [chapter is reprint of journal article]
  • “National Service and Nation Building: Successes and Limitations of the Singaporean Model” in Ho Shu Huang and Graham Ong-Webb (eds), Citizen/Soldier: National Service in Singapore. 2018.
  • “Democratic Crossroads and Political Transitions in Southeast Asia: Domestic and International Factors” in Southeast Asia in an Evolving Global Landscape, proceedings from the Global Affairs Canada conference on Southeast Asia, 2017.

 

Other Publications:

  • “Singapore’s PAP has little to fear from Malaysia’s political transition” – East Asia Forum, 2018 (with Steven Oliver)
  • “Ethnic diversity matters for decentralisation and development” – East Asia Forum,2018 (with Yuhki Tajima and Krislert Samphantharak)
  • “Centralisation not reconciliation under Najib Razak” – East Asia Forum, 2018
  • “Legitimacy and Longevity in Singapore’s Reserved Presidency” – East Asia Forum, 2017 (with Isabel Chew).
  • “China’s Ambitions Welcomed in Kuala Lumpur?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #388, 2016 (with Phuong Nguyen).
  • “Has Chinese foreign policy in Southeast Asia entered a bolder and more assertive phase?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #342, 2015.
  • “LNG in British Columbia, scandals in Malaysia, and the complexity of policy decisions” – Asia Pacific Memo, #340, 2015.
  • “The many implications of cheap oil in Southeast Asia” – Asia Pacific Foundation, 2015.
  • “Will the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) transform Southeast Asian economies in 2015?” – Asia Pacific Memo, #322, 2015 (with Krislert Samphantharak)
  • “The Perilous Start and Uncertain Future of the Jokowi Era in Indonesia” – Asia Pacific Memo, #311, 2014
  • “The Year in Malaysian Politics: Democracy’s Crooked Trajectory” – Asia Pacific Memo, #310, 2014
  • “Malaysian elections, malapportionment, and redelineation” – New Mandala, 2013.

 

Policy Reports:

Graduate Supervision keyboard_arrow_down

I am interested in working with students whose work is relevant to issues of political development, particularly in Southeast Asia.

 

PhD Students (supervision):

  • Isabel Chew (Political Science, 2017 – )
  • Nathan Peng (Political Science, 2017 – )

PhD Students (committee):

  • Fraser GerMann (Anthropology, 2015 – )
  • Faisal Harahap (Resource Management and Environmental Studies, 2015 – )
  • Salta Zhumatova (Political Science, 2013 – )

MA (supervision):

  • Kylie Luu (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2017)
  • Clarrie Ng (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2016)
  • Lotus Ruan (Institute of Asian Research, 2014 – 2016)

MA (committee):

  • Keshav Kelkar (Institute of Asian Research, 2013 – 2015)
  • Peggy Lam (School of Journalism, 2015 – 2017)
  • Michael Zhang (Institute of Asian Research, 2013 – 2015)
Additional Description keyboard_arrow_down

www.kaiostwald.meCLICK HERE for an updated version of my CV from my personal website.