IRASEC

Les catastrophes d'origine naturelle en Indonésie : penser le multirisque

Bertrand — 2026-10-05T09:42:10Z

Audrey FARAL
IRASEC, Bangkok
October 2026, 32 p.
Text in french

The 2011 Tohoku disaster (Japan) and the 2018 Palu disaster (Indonesia) have highlighted the importance of considering interactions between hazards, as well as their consequences for increasingly exposed populations and rapidly urbanizing territories. These events have contributed to the emergence of a new paradigm in risk assessment, based on a multi-hazard approach that moves beyond the isolated analysis of individual natural hazards to better characterize their interactions and combined effects.

Audrey FARAL
IRASEC, Bangkok
October 2026, 32 p.
Text in french

This article provides an overview of this evolving paradigm in hazard and risk assessment, focusing on Indonesia, a territory particularly exposed to a wide range of natural hazards. An analysis of disasters recorded across the archipelago since the early twentieth century highlights a marked increase in their frequency since the 1970s, as well as a gradual evolution in disaster risk management policies, from an approach primarily focused on emergency response towards consideration of the entire disaster management cycle. However, risk management remains largely structured around hazards considered separately, despite their potential interactions.

This situation is further compounded by the limited knowledge of the history of disasters in Indonesia, with many past events remaining poorly documented, thereby limiting our understanding of the temporal variability of hazards and their interactions. Integrating these past events is therefore essential to identify multi-hazard configurations that may recur and for better assessing future risks. This article consequently highlights the value of an interdisciplinary approach combining geohistorical and geoscientific methods to investigate past events. Confronting historical archives with environmental data (e.g., geomorphological and stratigraphic observations, geochronological and geochemical data) makes it possible to reconstruct past events, characterize their chronology and interactions between hazards, and assess their impacts on societies. This approach has notably been applied to the 1257 Samalas eruption and the 22 November 1815 disaster in Bali. Studying historical disasters thus provides valuable insights into hazard interactions and can contribute to improving disaster risk management and reduction in Indonesia.

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Audrey Faral holds a Ph.D. in physical geography and is a faculty member and researcher at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, affiliated with the Laboratory of Physical Geography in Thiais (CNRS, UMR 8591). As a geomorphologist, her research focuses on natural hazards and disasters (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis) and their environmental and societal impacts, primarily in volcanic and/or island environments, particularly in Indonesia. Audrey Faral employs a geomorphological, stratigraphic, and geohistorical approach to study past environments and understand present-day dynamics, focusing in particular on the interactions between natural processes and societies.

A Colonial Lens on the High Ground

Bertrand — 2026-09-23T09:09:50Z

Practices, Representations, and Identities in the Visual Archive
Edited by : Tim Allender , Inés Dussel , Ian Grosvenor and Karin Priem
Published by De Gruyter, 2026

Emmanuelle Peyvel, Associate Research Fellow, co-authered with Alexandra de Heering and Eric Jennings, the chapter “A Colonial Lens on the High Ground : Imperial Vantage Points in British Indian and French Indochinese Hill Stations”.

Read the book: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/docu...

The Imperial Gaze
Practices, Representations, and Identities in the Visual Archive
Edited by : Tim Allender , Inés Dussel , Ian Grosvenor and Karin Priem
Published by De Gruyter, 2026

This chapter focuses on the colonial visuality of South Asian and Southeast Asian hill stations, established by the British and French empires in India and Vietnam during the 19th and 20th centuries. These hill stations, constructed in mountainous regions by and for the colonizers, can be viewed as spatial and symbolic manifestations of imperialism, designed to extend colonial domination to all corners of the Empire. Drawing on a sample of picture postcards produced between the 1880s and the 1930s, this chapter examines the imperial gaze and the visual discourse surrounding these hill stations. It investigates the mechanisms employed to construct this visuality through postcards created during the colonial era, for both personal and propagandistic purposes. Furthermore, it interrogates the aesthetics and meanings of these postcards, addressing their circulation within and beyond the empires to comprehend how photography was utilized to project and legitimize the colonizers' presence and domination.

About this book

The Imperial Gaze : Practices, Representations, and Identities in the Visual Archive is a collection of essays by leading academics from around the world who study the colonial gaze in different empire settings. The key task undertaken by each author was to uncover new ways of looking at empire through the contemporaneous making and use of images, including photography.
The essays in this volume uncover new geographies of colonial interaction, away from the simple binary of “colonizer” and “colonized”. They include : accounts of travel in empire and constructions of the exotic “other” ; the projection of images that engage gender themes and Western religion ; the archival building of colonial photographic imaging ; imperial storytelling and a visual peering into colonial settings concerning problematic metropole-based philanthropy ; and visual portrayals of first peoples who suffered and who were marginalized in colonial domains.
This volume offers innovative vistas of empire that will enrich the work of scholars in this active academic field. They do this by providing vital cross-disciplinary alternative avenues of analysis based on the production and use of the image in imperial settings.

Asian hill stations: Defining and mapping a transcolonial phenomena

Bertrand — 2026-09-23T07:07:41Z

Emmanuelle Peyvel with Eric Jennings, Alexandra de Heering, Judicaelle Dietrich and Isabelle Sacareau just published an article entitled « Asian hill stations : Defining and mapping a transcolonial phenomena » in the last issue of Journal of Historical Geography.

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Journal of Historical Geography, vol. 93, September 2026, p. 180-192

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From the nineteenth century onwards in the British, French, and Dutch empires in Asia, colonial societies developed a new type of place in the mountains : the hill station. As simple as it may seem, this topic – in other words, what constitutes a hill station - proves slippery. Situated at the crossroads of colonial history, urban studies and tourism studies, our article aims to define it and thus fill a gap in the existing literature, which consists mainly of inventories and a profusion of monographs, that perpetuate the confusion. From a historical and geographical perspective, we critically examine the birth of hill stations during the colonial era in order to deconstruct criteria related to altitude and health. Delving beyond lexical and topographical approaches, we propose a definition based on three recurring functions (military, health, and agricultural) closely tied with several forms of tourism. Shifting away from diffusionist theories, we call into question the unicity of an European model, in order to shed light on the circulation and variations in the hill station model along transimperial scales.

The Rise of Pet Culture in Southeast Asia

Bertrand — 2026-09-04T09:46:45Z

Pana KANTHA
IRASEC, Bangkok
August 2026, 19 p.
Text in French

The recent and rapid adoption of pet culture in Southeast Asia is not simply a matter of the spread of the Western model, but rather a process of appropriation and reconfiguration shaped by local social structures and new lifestyles. This article analyzes this transformation through the concept of “multiple modernities,” showing how pet culture fits into societies characterized by the persistence of familism, despite profound demographic, economic, and urban changes.

Pana KANTHA
IRASEC, Bangkok
August 2026, 19 p.
Text in French

In these contexts, pets become a new form of emotional investment, care, and responsibility, integrated into enduring family narratives rather than a purely individualistic logic. Their adoption, however, reveals the emergence of competing “moral economies,” pitting different conceptions of the legitimate family, the allocation of economic resources, and the place of animals in shared spaces against one another. These tensions are evident in urban policies, condominium regulations, and public debates, but they also foster new institutional adaptations : specialized infrastructure, professional services, and regulatory frameworks.

Far from being a linear process of Westernization, pet culture thus reveals the ability of Southeast Asian societies to transform globalized practices according to their own historical trajectories, producing unique forms of modernity in which the boundaries of family and care are gradually being redefined.

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Pana KANTHA is an independant researcher. He holds an MA in Sociology and Anthropology from Chiang Mai University, with a thesis on pet culture in Thai society, which this article builds on and extends regionally. Past research has examined human-animal relationships more broadly, including the cross-border cattle trade across the Mekong subregion, and colonial-era conceptions of nature introduced through Christian missionary religion, and their lasting influence on Thai society. Current work focuses on the power relations and moral economy of Thai elephant tourism, within the broader field of conservation politics.

Mapping urban Aedes aegypti breeding containers: landscape-driven analysis in Bangkok, Thailand

Bertrand — 2026-08-20T10:28:29Z

Éric DAUDÉ with Alexandre Cebeillac, Kanchana Nakhapakorn & Richard E. Paul, just published an article of the last issue of the International Journal of Health Geographics (Volume 25, article number 40, 2026) : Mapping urban Aedes aegypti breeding containers : landscape-driven analysis in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Urban dengue risk emerges from spatially heterogeneous interactions between mosquito vectors, the environment, and human activities. In Bangkok, Aedes aegypti breeding containers are predominantly artificial recipies whose distribution is shaped by the morphological structure of urban environments, including built-up density, compactness, interstitial open spaces, and vegetation configuration, as well as by everyday practices such as storage, waste accumulation, gardening, and maintenance. We tested whether a landscape-based typology of Bangkok defines functionally similar mosquito breedings containers by conducting standardized field surveys of outdoor potential breeding containers (PBC) across 36 urban zones (May 2023-December 2024). Among the 4,921 geolocated individual PBCs, small containers (< 1 L) dominated the container pool and accounted for most between-zone variability. PBC density showed a non-linear association with the built-up density and urban compactness gradient, with higher densities at both extremes of this Axis 1. We characterized container spatial aggregation using cluster metrics and classified zones into four aggregation profiles using PAM clustering. A multivariate model combining built intensity and PCA-based descriptors (|Axis 1| and Axis 3) explained a substantial fraction of the variability in PBC cluster coverage, enabling metropolitan-scale mapping of structurally favorable environments. Overall, urban morphology provides a meaningful baseline for identifying functional mosquito breeding containers, but local socio-environmental factors remain critical for explaining breeding-site aggregation.

Épargne et grande pauvreté : l'expérience des familles du cimetière Nord de Manille, Philippines

Bertrand — 2026-07-22T09:33:22Z

Jérémy IANNI
IRASEC, Bangkok
July 2026, 18 p.
French Text

This paper analyzes savings practices and attitudes within a community living in extreme poverty that has taken up residence in the North Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

Jérémy IANNI
IRASEC, Bangkok
July 2026, 18 p.
Franch text

This paper analyzes savings practices and attitudes within a community living in extreme poverty that has taken up residence in the North Cemetery in Manila, Philippines. Rooted in the field of education and training sciences, it is based on qualitative field research involving interviews and the analysis of practices observed within the framework of a popular education program implemented by the ATD Fourth World movement. Despite widespread exclusion from the banking system, families develop complex informal savings strategies (investing in relationships, hoarding objects). The study highlights how participation in a flexible, non-judgmental savings program fosters context-specific learning, bringing about lasting changes in participants' relationship with money and their ability to plan for the future—beyond the effects typically associated with budget training alone.

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Jérémy IANNI holds a Ph.D. in Education and Training Sciences, is a research associate at IRASEC, and is an honorary assistant professor at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia. His research focuses on experiential learning and shifts in relationships to knowledge, particularly in contexts of extreme poverty. In addition to his research work, he serves as director of courses at the Alliance Française in Kuala Lumpur, having previously lived in the Philippines for eleven years.

Rebel Art: Myanmar Artists Respond to Repression

Bertrand — 2026-07-08T04:28:25Z

Artistically coordinated by Kyar Pauk, a leading figure in Myanmar's contemporary cultural scene now living in exile, and introduced by Chloé Baills (Ph.D. candidate, EHESS), Rebel Art : Myanmar Artists Respond to Repression explores contemporary artistic expression and resistance in Myanmar following the military coup of February 1, 2021. The works of twenty-two photographers, painters, illustrators, and poets each offer a personal perspective on the experience of the Spring Revolution.

Organized into six thematic sections (Protest, Conflict, Trauma, Ridicule, Heroes & Martyrs, and Exit), this 167-page volume documents the many dimensions of Myanmar's resistance : from peaceful demonstrations to armed struggle, from the psychological scars of war to satire, remembrance, and the realities of exile.

Beyond its artistic significance, Rebel Art provides an original lens through which to understand the profound political, social, and cultural transformations reshaping Myanmar. In particular, it highlights the emergence of a resistance culture driven by Generation Z, characterized by the intensive use of social media, visual art, and digital cultural production as tools for mobilization, collective memory, and transnational circulation.

Freely available in open access :

Pouvoirs en Asie-Pacifique. Territoires et populations, contrôles et résistances

Bertrand — 2026-06-25T03:16:11Z

Christine CABASSET et Éric FRÉCON, chercheurs associés à l'IRASEC, ont chacun publié un article pour le dossier du dernier numéro de la Revue internationale et stratégique, consacré aux logiques de domination, aux dynamiques de contestation et aux trajectoires qui façonnent l'avenir de cet espace stratégique majeur.

Lire l'article de Christine CABASSET : Les populations frontalières d'Asie du Sud-Est, variables d'ajustement des États ?

Lire l'article d'Éric FRÉCON : Singapour : la Smart Nation, entre performance économique, contrôle social et vulnérabilités numériques

Lire l'article de Christine CABASSET : Les populations frontalières d'Asie du Sud-Est, variables d'ajustement des États ?

Le conflit ouvert entre le Cambodge et la Thaïlande en juillet 2025 a remis au premier plan les enjeux liés aux frontières héritées des colonisations européennes en Asie du Sud-Est, dont plusieurs demeurent contestées. Plus largement, les frontières et autres espaces périphériques constituent souvent un lieu privilégié d'expression des pressions exercées par l'État sur les minorités ethniques. Ces lieux cristallisent ainsi des politiques de souveraineté et de contrôle des marges territoriales, qui affectent en premier lieu les populations à la fois géographiquement éloignées et culturellement distinctes du groupe ethnique majoritaire. Dès lors, les populations locales se trouvent fréquemment transformées en instruments, voire en victimes, des politiques frontalières. Les États peuvent en effet les mobiliser au service de la consolidation, ou même de l'extension du territoire, par le déplacement, la militarisation ou l'intégration forcée. Trois dynamiques seront ici distinguées : l'héritage des contentieux frontaliers, les politiques de contrôle des minorités et l'intégration économique des marges au profit des centres. Frontières contestées, marges surveillées Des frontières coloniales en héritage L'héritage colonial constitue le premier facteur pesant sur les populations et, le cas échéant, sur les conflits frontaliers, dans la mesure où les indépendances se sont inscrites dans les limites spatiales définies par les anciennes puissances coloniales.

Lire l'article d'Éric FRÉCON : Singapour : la Smart Nation, entre performance économique, contrôle social et vulnérabilités numériques

Prenez le métro à Singapour. À la sortie de son tunnel, sous les gratteciel des banques puis les condominiums des expatriés, apparaît un autre visage de la cité-État : celui des cités-dortoirs, où les longues barres cèdent progressivement la place aux hautes tours, puis celui d'une banlieue industrieuse, faite d'entrepôts, d'ateliers et de dortoirs pour travailleurs sud-asiatiques. Loin de l'image habituelle de l'« air-conditioned nation », le visiteur retrouve ici le visage laborieux du pionnier singapourien. L'industrie manufacturière demeure en effet un pilier de l'économie nationale : en 2023, elle représentait environ 19 % du produit intérieur brut (PIB) singapourien. Le virage numérique s'inscrit dans cette continuité productive. Les data centers trouvent désormais leur place dans un paysage longtemps structuré par les containers et les infrastructures logistiques. Portée par l'« Industry 4.0 », la part de la manufacture pourrait atteindre 28,4 % du PIB en 2028.
D'abord « cité-entrepôt » à l'époque de Temasek (aux abords du XIVe siècle), puis sous domination britannique à partir de 1819, Singapour s'affirme dès 1972 comme une « global city », selon la formule employée par le ministre des Affaires étrangères S. Rajaratnam. Lee Kuan Yew, Premier ministre de 1959 à 1994, œuvre continuellement en ce sens, notamment en promouvant très tôt l'usage d'un anglais fonctionnel et internationalisé.

La main-d'œuvre touristique face à la crise de la Covid-19 à Chiang Mai : des mobilités professionnelles sous contrainte

Bertrand — 2026-05-21T03:14:41Z

Pongsa KANTASORN
IRASEC, Bangkok
May 2026, 26 p.
French Text

The COVID-19 pandemic brought international tourism in Thailand to a standstill, leading to business closures, unemployment, and significant income losses for workers in the sector. Based on a qualitative survey conducted in Chiang Mai—based on 101 interviews between July 2021 and February 2022—this research examines the strategies adopted by the tourism workforce in response to the crisis. Findings reveal that public assistance, which was limited and sometimes discriminatory, proved insufficient, pushing workers to develop individual survival strategies, including professional and geographical mobility into other sectors. These forced transitions raise issues of resource access, living conditions, and well-being, while also resulting in a loss of skills for the local tourism sector. The study thus sheds light on recent transformations in the tourism industry and the challenges posed by future crises.

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Pongsa KANTASORN began his career as a French teacher specializing in tourism, while also gaining practical experience as a tour guide. He later collaborated with a French NGO dedicated to improving the living conditions of underprivileged children and youth in Southeast Asia. This experience inspired him to pursue university studies on the impact of migration in Southeast Asia, particularly in relation to the tourism sector. Pongsa Kantasorn holds two master's degrees—one in French language and the other in tourism development—both obtained in France. He is currently a PhD candidate at Paul-Valéry University Montpellier 3, within the Department of Geography and Spatial Planning, where his thesis examines “COVID-19 as a Revelator of Dysfunctions in Tourism Structuring : Precariousness and the Search for a Crisis Exit Trajectory for Thailand's Tourism Workforce in the Era of Sustainable Tourism” (« La Covid-19 comme révélateur de dysfonctionnement dans la structuration du tourisme : la précarité et la recherche d'une trajectoire de sortie de crise de la main-d'œuvre touristique en Thaïlande dans l'ère du tourisme durable »).

Learning from animals? shared plant use between Lua herders and water buffalo in Northern Thailand

Bertrand — 2026-05-08T03:41:59Z

Nicolas LAINÉ, associate research fellow at IRASEC, co-authored an article with Kim Fooyontphanich, Suthee Janyasuthiwong and Phattaravee Prommanut, published in “Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine” on April 29, 2026.

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In this study, the interplay between animal feeding behaviors and the evolution of local human and veterinary pharmacopeias is examined through the lens of the Lua people and their water buffalos in Northern Thailand. By interviewing 18 Lua herders in Ban Huay Phan, researchers explored buffalo grazing habits, health issues, and specific plant consumption during various physiological or pathological states, alongside local ethnoveterinary practices. The investigation focused on the shared use of natural resources, documenting plant parts consumed by buffalos, their preparation and administration methods if used by humans, and collecting species samples for identification at the Bangkok Herbarium (BBH). This approach highlights the interconnectedness of human ethnomedicine and animal self-medication, shedding light on the development of local medicinal knowledge and practices.