Author
Prof Andrew Harding
Organisation/Institution
National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law
Country
SINGAPORE
Panel
Constitutional and Admin Law
Title
TERRITORIAL GOVERNANCE IN SE ASIA
Abstract
This presentation will outline the main findings of my book (same title) which will be published in February 2025 by Hart Publishing. The book discusses all forms of subnational governance across 5 SE Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand. These forms include special regional autonomy, local and provincial government, federalism, decentralisation, inter-governmental relations, and village governance. The book is an attempt to decentre constitutional law from metropolitan perspectives, and finds there has been a silent revolution in territorial governance over the last few decades. It also reveals a striking degree of originality in approaches taken by SE Asian states in attempting to deal with the problems of pluralism and nation-building.
Biography
Professor Andrew Harding is a leading scholar in the fields of Asian legal studies and comparative constitutional law. He commenced his academic career at NUS before moving to SOAS, University of London, where he became Head of the School of Law. He joined NUS from the University of Victoria, BC Canada, where he was Professor of Asia-Pacific Legal Relations and Director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives. At NUS he held the positions of Director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies, Director of the Asian Law Institute, and Chief Editor of the Asian Journal of Comparative Law. Professor Harding has worked extensively on constitutional law in Malaysia and Thailand,and has made extensive contributions to scholarship in comparative law, and law and development, having published 20 books as author or editor. He is co-founding-editor of Hart Publishing’s book series ‘Constitutional Systems of the World’, a major resource for contextual analysis of constitutional systems, and has authored the books on Malaysia and Thailand in that series (2011, 2012). His most recent book is Territorial Governance in Southeast Asia (2025, forthcoming).
