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.

Birgit Tremml-Werner and Maarten Manse at Vienna Archival Conference

Alexander Yanov Prikaz v Moskve Serpukhov Museum CRunivers

Category

Events

Dates

2026-03-19 09:00 - 10:00

Venue

Seminarraum 1, ÖAW Campus Bäckerstrasse 13 1010 Vienna

Maarten Manse and Birgit Tremml-Werner will participate in the conference The Archival Impulse: Knowledge Production, Record Keeping, and Imperial Governance (15th–19th Centuries), held in Vienna on 19–20 March 2026. The conference explores how archival practices shaped governance and knowledge production across imperial contexts.

On 19 March (13:00–14:20), Maarten Manse will present the paper “State of Paper: Colonial Writing Culture, Governance Pretense, and the Colonial Necessity for Producing Archives.” The presentation forms part of Panel II: Building Archives and Fictions of Governance, chaired by Wolfgang Mueller.

On 20 March (13:30-14:50), Birgit Tremml-Werner will present “Reciprocal Relations: The Role of Indigenous Languages in Late Eighteenth-Century Diplomatic Archives.”

More information:
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/sice/events/conferences

Photo: Alexander Yanov, Prikaz v Moskve (Serpukhov Museum)

All Dates

2026-03-19 09:00 - 10:00

Project Member Ariel Lopez Featured in New Historical Documentary

Project member Ariel Lopez appears in a new documentary

Treaties and Origins of the Cambodia-Thailand Border Dispute

Ever since Cambodia became independent in 1953, its border with Thailand has been contested, the ancient Hindu temple Preah Vihear (or Phra Wihan in Thai) being a particular source of discord. To understand the present conflict, it is necessary to look at two treaties concluded in 1904 and 1907.

06

May

Project participants at Svenska historikermötet (Swedish historians' meeting) 6-8 May 2026.

Malmö University, Niagara och Orkanen

Global diplomacy, treaties & new perspectives. Malmö, May 2026. Linnaeus & Lund universities.

01

Sep

Project member Panel at EuroSEAS Conference, Madrid 2026

Project members convene Southeast Asia diplomacy panel at EuroSEAS Madrid, Sept 2026

01

Sep

CFP Deadline – Treaties and Tributes Conference 2027

CFP Deadline: Treaties & Tributes 2027 conference. Submit to 2027conference@sea-treaties.org

19

Feb

2027 Conference: Treaties and Tributes: Asian Agency and Performativity in Cross-Cultural Diplomacy, c. 1400–1975

Thammasat University, Bangkok

International conference on Asian diplomacy, treaty-making & cross-cultural relations. Bangkok, 2027

BooksIMG