Conference on Inter-Asian Connections Detail of migration map of Asia: courtesy UNHCR Conference Proceedings February 21-23, 2008 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Co-Organized by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the Dubai School of Government (DSG) Funded by the Ford Foundation Sponsored by DSG, Zayed University, the University of Dubai, the National Bank of Dubai, and Dubai Properties INTRODUCTION This international conference brought together over one hundred fifty leading scholars from renowned universities to explore an exciting new frontier of “Inter-Asian” research. The conference was organized around eleven concurrent workshops featuring innovative research from the social sciences and related disciplines on themes of particular relevance across Asia. Workshop themes, directors, and participants were selected by an SSRC committee in a highly competitive process: the conference organizers received 105 applications for workshop directors and 582 applications for workshop participants. In addition to the eleven workshops, the conference also showcased the work of the South Asia Regional Fellowship Program (SARFP), bringing together fellows who had been awarded collaborative grants to work on inter-country projects in the South Asia region. The structure and schedule of the conference were designed to enable intensive working group interactions on a specific research theme, as well as broader interactions on topics of mutual interest and concern to all participants. Accordingly, a public keynote panel and plenaries addressing different aspects of Inter-Asian research were open to all participants as well as the general public. The concluding day of the conference brought all the workshops together in a public presentation and exchange of research agendas that emerged over the course of the deliberations in Dubai. The conference also included a plenary session entitled “Dubai: Interconnecting Asia” that explored issues of pressing relevance to the Gulf region within the context of Asia as well as highlighting the distinctive relations between corporate, private, and state organizations in the United Arab Emirates and their potential role in connecting local and international research communities. This was the first forum to bring together such a wide range of scholars of the Middle East, South Asia, Russia/Eurasia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia to discuss the shared histories and shared futures of Asia. The host city of Dubai exemplified the conference theme of “Inter-Asian Connections” and reminded us of the importance of creating and furthering exchanges and dialogues among the different regions of Asia. The Conference on Inter-Asian Connections was organized by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in partnership with the Dubai School of Government (DSG). 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 ORGANIZING INSTITUTIONS 6 CONFERENCE AGENDA 8 PLENARY and KEYNOTE PANEL SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHIES 13 CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS 14 Border Problems: Theory, Culture, and Political Economy Workshop directors: • David Ludden, New York University, US • Julie Mostov, Drexel University, Pennsylvania, US • Dina Siddiqi, University of Pennsylvania, US 27 Distant Divides and Intimate Connections: Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia Workshop director: • Nicole Constable, University of Pittsburgh, US 39 Initiatives of Regional Integration in Asia in Comparative Perspective: Concepts, Contents, and Prospects Workshop directors: • Howard Loewen, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Germany • Anja Zorob, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Germany 52 Inter-referencing Asia: Urban Experiments and the Art of Being Global Workshop directors: • Aihwa Ong, University of California, Berkeley, US • Ananya Roy, University of California, Berkeley, US 64 Law-in-Action in Asian Societies and Civilizations Workshop directors: • Baudouin Dupret, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France • Zouhair Ghazzal, Loyola University, Chicago, US 72 Multiple Flexibilities: Nation–States, Global Business, and Precarious Labor Workshop directors: • Kevin Hewison, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US • Arne Kalleberg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US 84 Neoliberal Globalization and Governmentality: State, Civil Society, and the NGO Phenomenon in Asia Workshop director: • Sangeeta Kamat, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, US 95 Networks of Islamic Learning across Asia: The Role of International Centers of Islamic Learning in Building Ties and Forging New Identities Workshop director: • Jacqueline Armijo-Hussein, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE 3 103 Postcollective Economic Lives and Livelihoods: Studies of Economy, Institutions, and Everyday Practice in Postsocialist Eurasia and Asia Workshop directors: • Beth Mitchneck, University of Arizona, US • John Pickles, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US 118 Sites of Inter-Asian Interaction Workshop directors: • Sunil Amrith, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK • Timothy Harper, University of Cambridge, UK 127 Transnational Circuits: “Muslim Women” in Asia Workshop director: • Annelies Moors, ISIM/University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands 137 South Asia Regional Fellowship Program: Collaborative Research Workshop directors: • Gopalan Balachandran, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland • Srirupa Roy, Social Science Research Council, New York, and University of Massachusetts at Amherst, US 142 FEEDBACK 144 APPLICANT POOL and CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION ANALYSES 153 CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS 155 CALL FOR INDIVIDUAL PAPER SUBMISSIONS 157 INSTITUTIONS and ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED 159 CONFERENCE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE 162 SPONSORS 4 ORGANIZING INSTITUTIONS THE SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL (SSRC), headquartered in New York, is a pioneering international institution for the promotion of cutting-edge research; it was established in 1923. The SSRC leads innovation, builds interdisciplinary and international networks, and focuses research on important public issues. SSRC initiatives have played a leading role in educating and training new generations of social science researchers, providing over ten thousand fellowships to graduate students and young researchers around the world. Its networks and committees have pioneered new approaches to understanding society and processes of social, cultural, economic, and political change. SSRC fellows have included Nobel Prize winners and members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. SSRC donors have included the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation; the governments of Germany, Japan, and the United States; and the United Nations. Independent and not-for-profit, the SSRC is guided by the belief that justice, prosperity, and democracy all require better understanding of complex social, cultural, economic, and political processes. It works with practitioners, policy makers, and academic researchers in all the social sciences, related professions, and the humanities and natural sciences. With partners around the world, the SSRC mobilizes existing knowledge for new problems, links research to practice and policy, strengthens individual and institutional capacities for learning, and enhances public access to information. THE DUBAI SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT (DSG) is a research and teaching institution focusing on public policy in the Arab world. Established in 2004 under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, in partnership with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the DSG aims to promote good governance through enhancing the region’s capacity for effective public policy. Toward this goal, the Dubai School of Government also collaborates with international institutions, such as the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Brookings Institution, in its research and training programs. In addition, the school organizes policy forums and international conferences to facilitate the exchange of ideas and promote critical debate on public policy in the Arab world. The DSG is committed to the creation of knowledge, the dissemination of best practices, and the training of policy makers in the Arab world. To achieve this mission, the school is developing strong capabilities to support research and teaching programs including applied research in public policy and management; master’s degrees in public policy and public administration; executive education for senior officials and executives; and knowledge forums for scholars and policy makers. 5 CONFERENCE AGENDA Thursday, February 21 8:30—10:30 Registration; introductory session Dubai World Trade Center 10:30—5:30 Individual workshop sessions (concurrent) Dubai School of Government 6:30 onwards Workshop working dinners Friday, February 22 9:00—1:00 Individual workshop sessions (concurrent) Dubai World Trade Center and Dubai School of Government 1:00—2:30 Lunch 2:30—4:30 “Inter-Asian Connections: Past, Present, and Future” Panel Discussion [public] Zayed University Auditorium Chaired by: Rima Sabban, Independent Researcher Gopalan Balachandran, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Magnus Bernhardsson, Williams College Engseng Ho, Harvard University Shahnaz Rouse, Sarah Lawrence College 5:00—7:00 “Methodologies of Inter-Asian Studies” Panel Discussion [public] Zayed