History

In 1999, the Research & Education for Peace Unit of the Universiti Sains Malaysia conducted a workshop with the theme “New Dimensions of Conflict and Challenges for Conflict Management in Southeast Asia.” This was held in Penang, Malaysia and was well attended by participants representing seven countries in the ASEAN region. As a result of this successful gathering of scholars and practitioners in peace education and conflict studies, the group was encouraged to form a network. A number of academic institutions and other non- government organizations were invited to form part of the network’s core group. They met again in July 2000 and organised a workshop from which they produced their proposal to set up the Southeast Asian Conflict Studies Network. This proposal was then submitted to the Department of Research Cooperation (SAREC) of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for funding. In April 2001, Sida accepted the proposal and signed an agreement to help build the Southeast Asian Conflict Studies Network.

SEACSN is founded on four objectives:

1. To promote cooperation and collaboration among researchers working in the area of peace and conflict research in Southeast Asia.

2. To promote research in peace and conflict resolution in Southeast Asia in accordance with the themes of SEACSN.

3. To produce a body of works on conflict analysis and conflict resolution.

4. To conduct a Southeast Asian conflict mapping exercise

The projects and activities of SEACSN are defined on the following themes and issues:

The State and The People

Civil Society and Governance; Self-determination; 

Centre-periphery Relations; Development; Natural Resources; Environment. 

Ethnicity

Ethnicity; Religion; Culture; Ethno-nationalism. 

Inter-State Relations

Border and Inter-State Relations; Regional Organizations; 

External State Relations.

Today, the network has grown with offices throughout Southeast Asia and with a Regional Coordinator’s Office located in Malaysia. Every National Coordinators Office is tasked to venture into a country programme of activities while the Regional Coordinator’s Office provides the administrative and coordination work for the entire network. SEACSN is proud to be a product of collaboration of scholars & practitioners within the region. It is envisioned to be a positive contribution in helping build peace in this part of the world.