Edward Aspinall, BA (Jurisprudence) (Adelaide), BA (Hons) (Sydney), PhD (ANU)

Professor and Head, Department of Political & Social Change, School of International, Political & Strategic Studies

Email: Edward.Aspinall@anu.edu.au

Biographical statement

My interest in the study of politics, especially Southeast Asian politics, began when I lived in Malang, East Java, as a teenager. After studying Indonesian language and politics at high school and university, I completed my PhD in the Department of Political and Social Change in 2000 on the topic of opposition movements and democratisation in Indonesia. After that, I worked on a range of topics related to Indonesian democratisation and civil society, and especially concerning the separatist conflict in Aceh. My current research interests include ongoing research on Indonesian national politics and democratisation, as well as a comparative project on peace processes in the Asia-Pacific. I am also starting systematic research on the role of ethnicity in everyday politics in Indonesia. I teach on ethnic conflict and internal security in Asia.

Research interests

Indonesian politics, Aceh, democratisation, social movements, civil society, nationalism, peace processes and peacebuilding, ethnic conflict.

Key publications

• Problems of Democratisation in Indonesia: Elections, Institutions, and Society<(co-edited with Marcus Mietzner). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2010.
• Islam and Nation: Separatist Rebellion in Aceh, Indonesia. Stanford University Press, 2009.
• Opposing Suharto: Compromise, Resistance and Regime Change in Indonesia. Stanford University Press, 2005.
• Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation & Democratisation. (Coedited with Greg Fealy), Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2003.
• The Helsinki Peace Agreement: a more promising basis for peace in Aceh? East West Center, Policy Paper series, East West Center, Washington, 2005.
• The Peace Process in Aceh: Why it failed (co-authored with Harold Crouch), East West Center Policy Paper series, East West Center, Washington, 2003.
• "The Construction of Grievance: Natural Resources and Identity in a Separatist Conflict", Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 51, No. 6, 2007, pp. 950-972.
• "From Islamism to Nationalism in Aceh, Indonesia", Nations and NationalismVol. 13, No. 2, 2007, pp. 245-263.

Career highlights

Lecturer in Southeast Asian Studies, University of Sydney, 2003-2005; Lecturer in Indonesian studies, University of New South Wales, 1997-2001; Coordinating Editor of Inside Indonesia; Co-Series Editor of Policy Studies, Co-Winner o of the Asian Studies Association of Australia's Mid-career Researcher Prize for Excellence in Asian Studies (2010) for Islam and Nation.