Though born and raised in Cambodia, my intellectual embrace of Southeast Asian Studies was almost accidental. After my family moved from Battambang province to Phnom Penh in 1997, I eventually received a high school scholarship at the newly established Zaman Turkish-Cambodian International School (later shortened to Zaman International School). My exposure to Southeast Asia was, understandably, limited. My father, who worked in the NGO world, took me on my first trip abroad sometime in 2000 to the Philippines, where I got to meet his international colleagues and visit Manila and Subic Bay. Although I learned a little bit about Filipino history and culture, I did not see the Philippines as a fellow Southeast Asian country despite the fact that Cambodia had just become the 10th member of ASEAN a year earlier.
In 2002, with encouragement from my Turkish high school teachers, I decided to apply for admission to a few renowned universities in Turkey. Instead of flying from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur, where the admission exam was administered, we decided to travel by land via Thailand, passing through the varying social and natural landscapes of Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Still, the idea of “Southeast Asia” had not taken root in my intellectual consciousness.
It was while I was studying in Turkey that I became cognizant of my origin, a place that was discernibly distinct from the Middle East or Eurasia. I recall feeling immensely excited and emotionally engaged every time I read something about Cambodia or the Mekong countries. Admittedly, I felt guilty feeling not knowing enough about Cambodia’s history and the region I am from whenever I was asked about the topic. That’s when it hit me. I began to search for a major I could pursue in graduate school. While I enjoyed sociology, I was increasingly drawn to the idea of studying about Cambodia and the region more specifically. Without actually knowing that such a field existed, I searched for universities offering degrees in “Asian studies” and “Asia-Pacific Studies” – and that’s how I came across “Southeast Asian Studies.” With the offer of a full scholarship from Ohio University, I embarked on my Southeast Asia Studies program in August 2006.
I took courses on Southeast Asian history, anthropology, politics, and geography (with a particular focus on Indonesia given the faculty’s specialization). Extra-curricular activities organized by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (now renamed “Center for Asian Studies”) offered festive culinary and cultural events about the region. As a Teaching Assistant, I also taught Khmer to other students who had to fulfill the program’s language requirement. Additionally, I took Thai and Bahasa Indonesia to enhance my own language competence. In 2010, I commenced my PhD in Southeast Asian Studies at Humboldt University of Berlin and received my doctorate in 2014. My dissertation was subsequently published (A History of Cambodia-Thailand Diplomatic Relations 1950-2020).
In between my graduate studies, I had a brief teaching at a Cambodian public university ands assigned the introductory course to Southeast Asia. Later, at Zaman University (renamed Paragon International University in 2019), I taught Khmer Studies courses to first-year students of all majors, In 2013 I was appointed head of the International Relations department and was able to include a few courses on Southeast Asia in the IR curriculum. The IR program has also partnered with Mahidol University International College’s International Relations and Global Affairs for a 2+2 program so that Paragon U’s IR students could take their 3rd and 4th year in Thailand and receive their bachelor’s degree from both Paragon U and Mahidol.
Looking back, as may be apparent from the title of the piece, my intellectual journey and “discovery” of Southeast Asia can be described as a “detour” in the sense that I only began to take a significant academic interest in the region after my experience in Turkey and my formal studies in the United States. Only after I started my graduate studies did I begin to comprehend the interconnectedness of this region called “Southeast Asia” and discern both the similarities and diverging historical trajectories that each country has experienced. Understanding these regional patterns has enabled me to have a better grasp of contemporary political discourses in Cambodia and within the wider Southeast Asian region. More importantly, I have become more region-centric in viewing issues today.
As for the state of Southeast Asian Studies, it seems to me from anecdotal conversations that despite the enlargement of ASEAN and the association’s mushrooming activities in different areas, the field of Southeast Asian Studies has downsized partly because of the retirement of Southeast Asian veteran scholars, the lack of funding, programs being taken over by larger Asian or Global studies, or a combination of these factors. Moreover, students who choose Southeast Asian Studies do not necessarily pursue an career in the field after graduation – a predicament, though, that is not unique to this major. More importantly, I have observed that majors, whether Southeast Asian or from outside the region, tend to focus on their own country or specific interest rather than on intra-regional affairs. While this pattern is understandable and to be expected, admission to the program, especially with a scholarship, should be prioritized for applicants with a potential regional focus. One way also to sustain Southeast Asian Studies is to build up dynamic networks of like-minded institutions within the region perhaps through a consortium of universities and research centers.
If we are serious about promoting a Southeast Asian identity and regional harmony, we should take note of the Malay proverb that says “Tak kenal maka tak cinta” (not knowing is hence not loving / you can’t love what you don’t know). Or, from a Turkish saying, “İnsanlar bilmedikleri şeylere düşmandırlar” (People are hostile to what they are ignorant about).