Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia: conflict and contestation in the conception of nationhood

Political contestations between the state and minority groups have long been a major feature of Southeast Asia. In recent years however, many of these contestations appear to be progressively taking on religious hues. Even among conflicts that had traditionally involved religious referents, such as in border provinces of Thailand or the Philippines, allegiances and imperatives of faith and creed have become sharper. This lecture will attempt to cast light of the religious character of some of these conflicts. It argues that at the heart of many seemingly religious conflicts in Southeast Asia lies a clash of competing conceptions of nation and nationhood, identity and belonging, as well as loyalty and legitimacy.

Joseph Chinyong Liow is presently Dean and Professor of Comparative and International Politics at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He is the author of Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia.

Jürgen Haacke is Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre and Associate Professor of International Relations at LSE.

The Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre (SEAC) (@LSESEAC) is an inter-disciplinary, regionally-focused academic centre within the Institute of Global Affairs at LSE. SEAC is LSE’s gateway to understanding Southeast Asia.

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LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.