ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute is a regional research centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment.
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For job application enquiries, please contact ISEAS HR at HR@iseas.edu.sg
Positions open for
1. Visiting Fellow – New Trends in Campaign Tactics (2-12 months), Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP)
Malaysia’s political context is increasingly fluid and dynamic. The growing number of political parties and coalitions, as well as multi-cornered contests has led to smaller winning margins and more fragile multi-party groupings to forge parliamentary majorities. Increased competition for support has led to more fine-grained and targeted strategies to attract smaller interest groups. Focusing on state and parliamentary elections, this project will focus on how parties and coalitions are seeking to conquer new political terrain through new campaign strategies and messaging.
2. Visiting Fellow – Malaysia’s Foreign Policy (2-12 months), Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP)
Malaysia’s foreign policy has traditionally focused on supporting regional institutions, promoting moderate Islam, and maintaining a hedged position vis-à-vis the great powers. In the immediate future, of interest is Malaysia’s positioning on the following issues: the country’s role as the ASEAN chair in 2025, territorial issues pertaining to the South China Sea; and the Palestine-Israel conflict. This project will follow key policy positions on these and other issues that can impact the region.
3. Visting Fellow – Malaysia’s Transition to a Green Economy (2-12 months), Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP)
Malaysia is developing initiatives to shift its energy systems from fossil fuel-based to greener and low-carbon systems, while it reconciles this with higher demand for energy due to substantial investment in power-intensive sectors such as semiconductor testing and assembly, as well as data centres. Energy transition levers include energy efficiency, renewable energy (primarily solar PV in place of coal), hydrogen, bioenergy, green mobility (EVs, public transport), and carbon capture utilization and storage. This project will examine government policies and industry trends as they pertain to the country’s energy transition.
4. Visiting Fellow – The Peninsular North (2-12 months), Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP)
The northern states of Peninsular Malaysia have had differing political trajectories, with Kelantan long a bastion of the Islamist party, PAS, Perlis the impenetrable fortress of Barisan Nasional (BN), and Terengganu and Kedah experiencing episodes of BN and opposition rule. In recent years, however, the political realities of these states have converged, with all now governed by Perikatan Nasional. Research under this project will analyse salient political trends in this region, including: the track records and policy initiatives of state government administrations; intra-party dynamics or inter-party relations between UMNO, PAS, and Bersatu; or local-level political dynamics in one or more of these states.
5. Visiting Fellow – Future of Malay-based Political Parties (2-12 months), Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP)
Once the preserve of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), peninsular Malaysia’s constituency-rich Malay heartland is increasingly being disputed by a number of Malay-focused parties. This project will explore the strategies and tactics employed by Malay-focused political parties, seeking to understand how they compete in terms of issues, constituencies, age group, candidate selection, narratives, and media outlet/platforms.
6. Visiting Fellow – Political Islam (2-12 months), Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP)
Observers are divided on the degree to which the ‘Green Wave’ – referring to the political momentum enjoyed by Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the past parliamentary and state elections – is due to the programmatic appeal of PN or deeper, structural changes in Malaysia such as increasing religiousity, particularly among younger voters. This project will analyse the role political Islam plays in Malaysia, and specifically how religious entities, narratives, and concepts are used.
7. Visiting Fellow – Political developments in Sabah (2-12 months), Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP)
Once a heartland for Barisan Nasional and UMNO, Sabah has become an increasingly disputed state. Multi-party coalitions are increasingly fluid, due to local level dynamics as well as the increasing linkages between parties in Sabah and on the peninsula. In contrast to Sarawak, which is more solidly controlled by a state-based coalition, the context in Sabah is more contested – with two state elections in rapid succession in 2018 and 2020. With the next state election due by the end of 2025 at the latest, party strategists are turning to Sabah. This project will study the key drivers for change in the state and enable a deeper understanding of state-level dynamics in the run-up to the next state election.
The closing date is 31 December 2024.
Remuneration and benefits will depend on the candidate’s qualification and experience. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
Please click here to apply.