[CALS WiP series] “Pluralism and territorial governance in SE Asia: Asymmetry versus Decentralisation” by Professor Andrew Harding

Professor Andrew Harding presented his paper “Pluralism and territorial governance in SE Asia: Asymmetry versus Decentralisation” at the CALS Work-in-Progress Seminar Series (CALS WiP series) via Zoom on 8 July 2020. This is one of CALS’ key events, dedicated to providing CALS researchers, both in-house and visiting, an informal platform to get feedback on their works-in-progress. Participation is limited to the CALS community, with a few guests added at the request of the presenter. The mood of the presentation is kept casual and friendly, to encourage brainstorming, freewheeling discussion, and frank constructive criticism. Post-doctoral Fellow, Bryan Dennis (Bo) Tiojanco, is the coordinator of this series.  

This time, besides the CALS community, we had the pleasure of Professor Dan Gatmaytan from the University of the Philippines Diliman, College of Law and Dr Rawin Leelapatana from Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Law joining the seminar, by invitation.  

Professor Harding explored the comparison of asymmetric regional autonomy and local decentralisation as different means for dealing with ethnic, religious, and cultural pluralism, particularly within the South-East Asian context of pluralism and nation-states. By examining the contexts of Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Myanmar, Professor Harding argued that local decentralisation, which involves devolving powers symmetrically to local governments across the whole nation-state, offers the opportunity for recognising local knowledge and local identity, and should be encouraged. The seminar, which was moderated by CALS Research Fellow, Dr Wilson Tay Tze Vern, also featured a very lively discussion of Professor Harding’s presentation with the seminar participants.