Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences - Institute of Asian and African Studies

The Chair “Southeast Asian Societies and Cultures” focuses on the analysis of the reproduction and transformation of social inequalities in Southeast Asian societies. A particular emphasis of the research lies in analyzing hard-to-study social structures within armed groups as well as power elites. Guided by principles of a global Sociology, the societies and cultures of Southeast Asia are understood both as a space that can advance social-theoretical questions and as locally, regionally, and globally situated. Southeast Asian power elites, armed groups and other fields are not confined to national or regional borders but also, for instance, encompass diaspora communities as well as international institutions and actors.

Starting in 2025, the chair will also work within the framework of a DFG Heisenberg Grant on a comparative project on the “Global Sociology of Elite Conflicts” focusing on power elites in Cambodia, Ghana, Argentina, and Spain.

Lecture Series

HU Southeast Asian Societies and Cultures Lecture Series

HU Global Sociology of Elite Conflict Lecture Series

More Information