Kai Ostwald is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. He is also Director of the Institute of Asian Research and the Centre for Southeast Asian Research (CSEAR).

His work is broadly on development, public policy, and ethnic politics. His focus is strongly on Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

Please see his personal website for further details: www.kaiostwald.me

Find him on Twitter: @KaiOstwald

Kai is currently involved in several projects with external partners, including:

Canada-ASEAN Business Outlook Survey: In collaboration with the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF), Kai and team of UBC MPPGA students conducted a survey of the Canadian private sector in Southeast Asia. The purpose was to provide insights into market conditions in the ASEAN region and better understand how the Canadian government can support deeper Canada-ASEAN economic ties. The report and additional information on the project can be found here. 

Emerging Myanmar Initiative: The Institute of Asian Research at UBC will be leading a capacity development program at the Yangon University of Economics and the University of Yangon in Myanmar, from 2017-2021. Further information to be posted shortly.

V-Dem: Kai is a contributor to the V-Dem project.

Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement Study: Kai and a team of MPPGA students at UBC contributed (together with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, the Business Council of Canada, and the Canada-ASEAN Business Council) to a study that provides policy recommendations for the federal government of Canada on how to deepen the bilateral relationship with the ASEAN region.

Peer Review:

“Malapportionment in Myanmar’s Elections: A Slumbering Menace” (with Constant Courtin) – Contemporary Southeast Asia, 42(2) forthcoming August 2020.

“Placebo Statements in List Experiments” (with Guillem Riambau) – FirstView in Political Science Research and Methods, 2020.

“Four Arenas: Malaysia’s 2018 Election, Reform, and Democratization” (with Steven Oliver) – Democratization, 27(4): 662-680, 2020.

“Language Politics, Education, and Ethnic Integration: The pluralist dilemma in Singapore” (with Elvin Ong and Dimitar Gueorguiev) – Politics, Groups, and Identities, 7(1): 89-108, 2019.

“Rematch: Islamic Politics, Mobilisation, and the Indonesian Presidential Election” (with Dimitar Gueorguiev and Paul Schuler) – Political Science, 70(3): 240-252, 2018.

“Triple Duel: The Impact of Coalition Fragmentation and Three-Corner Fights on the 2018 Malaysian Election” (with Paul Schuler and Jie Ming Chong) – Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 37(3): 31- 55, 2018.

“Canada’s Foreign Policy and Bureaucratic (Un)Responsiveness: Public Diplomacy in the Digital Domain” (with Julian Dierkes) – Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 24(2): 202-222, 2018.

“Ethnic Segregation and Public Goods: Evidence from Indonesia” (with Yuhki Tajima and Krislert Samphantharak) – American Political Science Review, 112(3): 637-653, 2018.

“Explaining Elections in Singapore: Dominant Party Resilience and Valence Politics” (with Steven Oliver) – Journal of East Asian Studies, 18(2): 129-156, 2018.

“Federalism without Decentralization: Power Consolidation in Malaysia” – Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, Forthcoming in 2017

“Language Politics, Education, and Ethnic Integration: The pluralist dilemma and its consequences in Singapore” (with Elvin Ong and Dimitar Gueorguiev) – Politics, Groups, and Identities, Online First 2017

“Indonesia’s Decentralization Experiment: Motivations, successes, and unintended consequences” (with Yuhki Tajima and Krislert Samphantharak) Journal of Southeast Asian Economies, 2016.

“Context and Comparison in Southeast Asia: the Practical Side of the Area Studies – Discipline Debate” (with Paul Schuler) – Pacific Affairs, 2015.

“How to Win a Lost Election: Malapportionment and Malaysia’s 2013 General Election”, The Round Table: Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 2013.

Selected Other Publications:

“Delayed Transition: The end of consensus leadership in Vietnam?” ISEAS Perspective, #2, 2016 (with Paul Schuler).

“Myanmar’s landmark elections: unresolved questions” ISEAS Perspectives, #68, 2015 (with Paul Schuler).

“Has Chinese foreign policy in Southeast Asia entered a bolder and more assertive phase?” Asia Pacific Memo, #342, 2015.

“LNG in British Columbia, scandals in Malaysia, and the complexity of policy decisions” Asia Pacific Memo, #340, 2015.

“The many implications of cheap oil in Southeast Asia.” Asia Pacific Foundation, 2015.

Kai currently teaches courses in UBC’s Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs program, as well as in the Department of Political Science. His past courses include:

• Measurement and Data Analysis for Policy, 2017 (MPPGA, UBC)
• Domestic and Global Policy Process – 2016 (MPPGA, UBC)
• Quantitative Analysis for Policy – 2015 (MPPGA, UBC)
• Policy Making Process – 2015 (MA level, IAR, UBC)
• Southeast Asian Governments and Politics – 2015, 2016, 2017 (BA level, UBC)
• Perspectives and Methods in Asia Pacific Policy Studies – 2014 (MA level, IAR, UBC)
• Political Economy of Southeast Asia – 2013 and 2014 (MA level, IR/PS, UCSD)
• Economic Development of Southeast Asia – 2012 and 2014 (MA level, IR/PS, UCSD)
• Politics of Southeast Asia – 2013 (BA level, UCSD)
• Politics of Multiculturalism – 2012 (BA level, UCSD)
• Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict – 2012 (BA level, UCSD)

Affiliations

• American Political Science Association
• Association for Asian Studies
• Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies
• Western Political Science Association