Proposals for PhD students linked with the Mekong basin

The posts are offered in the research unit “Political and Economic Anthropology in Southeast Asia” and concern the subject of electrification in the Mekong basin.

Description of the project

The construction of infrastructures as techno-political assemblages is central to the organisation of government authority. By focusing on electricity in three key areas – generation, transmission and consumption – this research group will study how the expansion of electricity grids in the sub-region of the lower Mekong interacts with economic, social and political dynamics at different levels of governance. Political and bureaucratic dimensions are analysed from the angle of their role in building specific subjects and subjectivities (gender, neo-liberalism, morality, politics).

By applying the perspective of the infrastructure to governmental construction processes, the research group seeks to enrich current understanding of the government and the governance of different political regimes in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Profile: MSc in anthropology or an associated discipline. Excellent ability to write and communicate in English. Experience in the field in the region concerned, as well as knowledge of the national and local languages, would be appreciated.

Further information