Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia

A research program in global diplomatic history

Historical Treaties of Southeast Asia is a collaborative research program in Global Diplomatic History financed by the Swedish Research Council and running from 2022 until the end of 2027.

A team of seven researchers based in Europe and Southeast Asia investigate the role of treaties and treaty-making in the imperial expansion and colonisation of Southeast Asia from the eighteenth to the early and twentieth century.

The researchers systematically analyse all bilateral treaties concluded between a European, American or Japanese imperial power and a Southeast Asian polity between the eighteenth and early twentieth century. In addition, a selected number of diplomatic treaty-making processes are studied in detail. In doing so, the project aims to bring about a new and more nuanced understanding modern imperialism of relevance not only to Southeast Asia but globally.

Project member Preedee Hongsaton has secured a researcher position at the International School of Interdisciplinary Humanities (ISIH), Chiang Mai University.

Project member Preedee Hongsaton has begun his five-year research position at the International School of Interdisciplinary Humanities (ISIH), Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Mai University.

Among his research focuses will include Lanna and its diplomatic history during the age of European and Siamese colonialism in the region. Furthermore, Preedee's research will look at how Northern Siam/Thailand was and is one among transnational nodes for the political, economic, social and cultural movements connecting Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Yunnan and beyond.

Sebatik Island and the Legacies of Colonial-Era Treaties

Ariel Lopez offers a brief reflection on how colonial-era border agreements continue to shape everyday life and mobility on Sebatik Island, situated between Indonesia and Malaysia.