Single title
Editors
Dr Leng Thearith is Director of the Mekong Centre for Strategic Studies of the Asian Vision Institute (AVI). He is concurrently a visiting fellow at the Australian National University (ANU). From 2004 to 2006, he engaged in a Japanese peace-building programme (JSAC), where he obtained both Gold and Silver working medals from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for his outstanding contributions to peacebuilding efforts in Cambodia. Between 2006 and 2011, he worked as the Bureau Chief of the General Department of ASEAN of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia. In 2009, he became the academic advisor to the Department of International Studies of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, where he was in charge of designing the curriculum, supervising the honours program, giving lectures and doing other tasks at the department. He holds a PhD in Political and International Studies from the University of New South Wales Canberra in 2018 under the Australian Endeavour Scholarship Award and a Master of International Peace Studies from the International University of Japan in 2009 with first-class honours.
Dr Cheunboran Chanborey is Program Director and a member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Vision Institute. He is also an advisor to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He received his PhD in International Political and Strategic Studies from the Australian National University. He earned a master’s in public management from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in conjunction with the Harvard Kennedy School; an M.A. in Diplomacy and International Studies from Rangsit University, Thailand; and a B.A. in International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. The areas of his interest include Cambodia’s foreign policy, small state foreign policy, and security studies and international relations in the Asia-Pacific.
Lim Menghour is Deputy Director of the Mekong Centre for Strategic Studies (MCSS) of the Asian Vision Institute in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Mr Lim obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) in Cambodia in 2013 and a Master of Science in International Relations from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom in 2017. He was also a lecturer of International Relations at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. As a researcher, he has written several articles on international relations, foreign policy, security and great power politics in the Mekong region and Southeast Asia.
Dr Kimly Ngoun is a university educator, researcher, editor, and language interpreter. Currently, he is Director of Research and Chief Editor at the Asian Vision Institute (AVI). He holds a PhD in Political Science from the Australian National University (2017), a Master of Arts in Southeast Asian Studies from Chulalongkorn University (2007), and a Bachelor of Education majoring in Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (B.Ed, TEFL) from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (2003). Prior to joining AVI, he had more than ten years of work experience as a senior lecturer of English and International Studies at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and two-year experiences as a Khmer-English-Khmer interpreter and translator at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Kimly was a Visiting Fellow at the ANU’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs between April and July 2019. He has published original research articles in the Journal of Contemporary Asia, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, and South East Asia Research. He is a reviewer of journal manuscripts related to Cambodian politics and society for the Journal of Contemporary Asia, Asian Studies Review, and TRaNS: Trans-Regional and-National Studies of Southeast Asia.
Maurizio Paciello has been a program manager in charge of international affairs at KAS Cambodia since October 2020. Before that, he has worked for KAS in India, Germany, and Uzbekistan in various roles. He holds a master's degree in history from Humboldt University Berlin. He has also spent time studying at the Université Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris, France and the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Lim Chhay has been a program officer at KAS Cambodia since December 2020. He formerly served as a junior research associate at KAS Cambodia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies with an Honour and Distinction Thesis Award from the Royal University of Phnom Penh. He used to serve as an assistant and interpreter to the spokesperson of the Royal Government and later worked with the United Nations Development Programme in charge of communications and knowledge management under the policy and innovation unit. He was appointed by Peking University as a Representative of ASEAN Delegation to China-ASEAN Youth Summit 2021 and received an award from China’s Foreign Affairs University as Best Delegate and Best Delegation in 2019. Chhay is also a research fellow at EU-ASEAN Think-Tank Dialogue, a cross-regional project funded by the EU Commission, co-coordinated by the Asian Vision Institute, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, and KAS Singapore.
Authors
Bong Chansambath is Deputy Director of the Centre for Inclusive Digital Economy (CIDE) at the Asian Vision Institute (AVI) and a lecturer at the Department of International Studies (DIS) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). Prior to taking these positions, he was a J. William Fulbright scholar at Kansas State University, where he received a Master of Arts in Security Studies. His research interests include security and international relations in the Asia-Pacific region and the geopolitical implications of emerging technologies.
Carolin Löprich is Programme Manager for Democracy and Sustainable Development at the Multinational Development Policy Dialogue of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Brussels. She conceptualises and leads engagement on European development cooperation in third countries with a special focus on local participation of women and young people. Carolin further conducts policy research and analyses, providing advocacy to the KAS partner network and European institutions on the conditionality of EU development cooperation and sustainable trade. Previous to her current position, she worked with a thematic focus on the agenda 2030 and the sustainability of European policies at a Brussels think tank. Carolin holds a master’s degree in European Studies and International Relations from Maastricht University and has studied comparative European Ethnology and Development Studies at the University of Regensburg and Ateneo de Manila University.
Dr Chheang Vannarith is President of the Asian Vision Institute (AVI). He is a public policy analyst and government relations strategist. He has over a decade of experience as a geopolitical risk analyst and political and economic observer with a focus on Southeast Asia. He is currently serving as President of AVI, Board Member at the Kirirom Institute of Technology (KIT), and Adjunct Lecturer at the School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University. He was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2013 and Southeast Asian Young Leader by the IISS-Shangri-La Dialogue in 2016. He received his BA in International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in 2002, MA in International Relations from the International University of Japan in 2006, and PhD in Asia Pacific Studies from the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in 2009.
Hannah Elyse Sworn is a Senior Analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research interests include US-China relations, the political economy of intellectual property and International Relations theory. Her recent work includes a co-authored journal article on US-Taiwan relations published in International Affairs. Hannah holds an MSc in International Relations from RSIS and previously worked as a research and evaluation consultant in Cambodia.
Dr Le Trung Kien is the Assistant Director-General, Director of Center for Development and Security Studies, Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam (DAV). Dr Kien is also the coordinator of the Mekong Center of the DAV. His research covers multilateral cooperation in the Mekong subregion, water security, US-China relations, and the international economy. He has served 15 years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was a Director of International Economic Cooperation Frameworks and Fora Division, Department of Economic Affairs. He held a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the DAV in 2006, a Master of Public Policy from the Australian National University in 2010, and a PhD in International Relations from DAV in 2021.
Lim Chhay has been a program officer at KAS Cambodia since December 2020. He formerly served as a junior research associate at KAS Cambodia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies with an Honour and Distinction Thesis Award from the Royal University of Phnom Penh. He used to serve as an assistant and interpreter to the spokesperson of the Royal Government and later worked with the United Nations Development Programme in charge of communications and knowledge management under the policy and innovation unit. He was appointed by Peking University as a Representative of ASEAN Delegation to China-ASEAN Youth Summit 2021 and received an award from China’s Foreign Affairs University as Best Delegate and Best Delegation in 2019. Chhay is also a research fellow at EU-ASEAN Think-Tank Dialogue, a cross-regional project funded by the EU Commission, co-coordinated by the Asian Vision Institute, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, and KAS Singapore.
Lim Hokseng is a Senior Research Fellow of the Think Tank 2022 Asia-Pacific Secretariat, based at the Asian Vision Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His work has also been associated with foreign affairs and international relations. He received a master’s degree in public policy from the Australian National University in Canberra and a bachelor’s degree in law from the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh.
Mathew L Bukit is a Senior Analyst at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He holds an MSc in Strategic Studies from RSIS and previously worked as Program Manager and Editor at the Asian Vision Institute. He contributed a chapter to this book as an independent researcher.
Mey Mithona earned a master’s degree in Public Administration in Saemaul Undong Theory and Practice from Yeungnam University (YU), the Republic of Korea, and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). She is a Vice Chief of Food Security Office, Community Development Department (CDD), Ministry of Rural Development (MRD). She is also a Social and Environmental Safeguard of “Cambodia Agricultural Sector Diversification Project (CASDP)” and “Cambodia Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project (CSLEP)” of World Bank Projects. From 2014 to 2018, she was an SMU Unit (Project National Coordinator) in charge of 10 model villages in Takeo Province and was appointed by Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as SMU Trainer for 30 model village’s capacity building programs of “Rural Development Project with SMU’s Participatory Approach” under the cooperation between MRD and KOICA.
Dr Nguonphan Pheakdey is an architect who graduated with his diploma degree in 1999 from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA), Phnom Penh. In 2009, he held a doctoral degree in science at the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg University, Germany, after PhD research on “Computer Modeling, Simulation and Visualization of Angkor Wat Style Temples in Cambodia.” Since then, his work has focused on computational engineering and digital solutions for supporting culture and historical monuments. As the dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and five years of experience in the application of computational methods and digital solutions for culture, he has expanded research projects in the areas with relevant partner institutions, including the IWR, universities in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the UK, the Global Heritage Fund, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, RUFA, National Museum of Cambodia, EFEO, Angkor Conservation Center, etc. In 2019, he joined the Asian Vision Institute (AVI) as the Director for the Centre of Culture and Peace Studies together with a strong research team to promote culture and peace in Cambodia as well as in the region.
Ouch Richard has received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of New Hampshire and a Masters in Global Affairs from New York University. For two years and counting, he has worked at AVI and its Centre of Inclusive Digital Economy, as well as with the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance on research and projects pertaining to the region’s business and e-commerce landscape. Despite his focus on the digital aspects within the Southeast Asian region, he continues to broaden his knowledge as a scholar and provides integral inputs and feedback on aspects of governance, specifically transnational security, and sustainable development in the region.
Pheap Chakriya joined the Asian Vision Institute (AVI) in 2019 as a project coordinator, and she is currently the Deputy Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS). Prior to that, she engaged in the community development and the management field since 2015 with a community-based development project with KOICA and the Ministry of Rural Development. Pheap holds a master’s degree in public policy and Leadership from Yeungnam University of the Republic of Korea (2014), a Bachelor of Computer Science from Royal University of Phnom Penh and a Bachelor of Economics and Finance from Economic and Finance Institute (2009).
Soeung Rithypanha is currently an official of the Department of International Relations, General Secretariat of the National Assembly of Cambodia. He has supported the Department of International Relations in coordinating the work and relations between the National Assembly and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly since 2013. He recently received the Australia Awards Scholarship intake 2019 and graduated from the University of Queensland in 2020 with a master’s degree in International Relations. His main interest in International Relations covers great powers’ politics, especially the rise of China and its implications on Southeast Asia and Cambodia.
Sok Chansophea works at the Asian Vision Institute (AVI) as a Junior Researcher of the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS). Prior to joining AVI, Sophea worked as a voluntary teacher of the Global Peace Foundation in 2018. He taught primary school students about environmental protection in Kdey Takoy Primary School in Phnom Penh. In the same year, he was a science trainer at Kid City. He has an interest in the environmental and science field. Currently, he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental science at Pannasastra University of Cambodia (PUC). He is also a member of Youth Action for Green (YouthAGE) Environment of PUC, which is supported by the Ministry of Environment (MoE) to work on raising environmental awareness through creating short videos and posting on social media and organizing field trips to the conservation areas for university students.
Dr Sok Serey completed his PhD in Human Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University (Hong Kong) in 2013. He is an active academic researcher. His academic papers have been published in various international peer-reviewed journals. Serey is an Editor-in-Chief at Insight Cambodia Journal of Basic and Applied Research and Associate Editor at Cambodia Education Review (CER). He also serves as the international editorial board for Pacific Geographies, Cambodia Journal of Natural History, and Mekong Connect of the Asian Vision Institute. At AVI, Serey is the Deputy Director at the Centre for Culture and Peace Studies (CCPS). At the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), Serey holds a position as Vice Head of Research Office. Internationally, he has been appointed as a Senior Visiting Fellow or Associate Professor at the Academy of Korea Studies, South Korea and a Visiting Scholar or Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, USA. Also, he is a Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, the University Technology Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia and the Central European University (CEU), Hungary.
Taing Kimleang currently is a Junior Researcher of the Centre for Sustainable Development Study (CSDS) at the Asian Vision Institute (AVI). Prior to joining AVI, she used to join the Global Volunteer with AIESEC in Bangkok University in teaching students in rural areas, joint the Paragon International University Model United Nation Club (PIUMUN), and was one of the Paragon Student ambassador’s representatives. She graduated from Westline High School in 2018. As for now, she is studying for a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science at Paragon International University (Senior). She also worked as an intern at the Mekong Centre of Strategy Studies (MCSS), in which she has an interest in international relations, foreign policy, regional security and the environment in the Mekong region. She published articles on “A review of America’s Foreign Policy” and “US Engagement with the Mekong Region”.
Dr Toshiya Takahashi is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Shoin University, Japan. He started a PhD study at the London School of Economics and received his PhD from the Australian National University. His research interest is in Japan’s security and foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific region and multilateralism, especially over APEC. He is a Member of the APEC Study Center of Japan and the APEC round table with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan. He is the author of China in Japan’s National Security: Domestic Credibility (Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2020) and has published articles in Japanese and English, including ‘Historical Continuities, Geopolitical Interests, and Norms in Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ in Maritime Issues and Regional Order in the Indo-Pacific (Palgrave Macmillan: London, 2021), and his articles on Japan in East Asia Forum (Crawford School, ANU).
Dr Yang Yue is Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies at China Foreign Affairs University, Associate Professor. As a member of NACT China (Network of ASEAN-China Think-tanks), Dr Yue Yang has been actively engaging in Track II diplomacies. She received her PhD in International Relations from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. She was a Fulbright Scholar at Georgetown University in the U.S. from 2006 to 2008. Her research focuses on American politics and foreign policy, ASEAN-China relations, East Asia Regional Cooperation, and cultural diplomacy. Her most recent books include Theory and Practice of China’s Cultural Diplomacy - An Empirical and Country-specific Study; The Belt and Road Initiative: ASEAN Countries’ Perspectives; ASEAN-China Cooperation for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Energy Development, and most recent articles include “ASEAN’s Perception of and Response to China-US Competition”; “Theoretical Analysis and Practical Approaches of Cultural Diplomacy: A Perspective of the “Civilization Dialogue Theory”; and “Major Power Competition and the Trump Administration’s policy toward Southeast Asia.”
Dr Yeo Lay Hwee is Director of the European Union Centre in Singapore and Council Secretary at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. She teaches as Adjunct Faculty at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, National University of Singapore, and the Singapore Management University. She is also a Senior Associate at the Centre for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University. Lay Hwee sits on several Advisory Boards, including the Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University, Leiden Asia Centre in Leiden University, the Asian Vision Institute (Cambodia) and the Student Think Tank for Europe-Asia Relations. She is active in ASEAN-EU and Asia-Europe networks participating actively in both policy dialogues and academic workshops and conferences.
