8 th Euroseas conference Vienna, 11–14 August 2015

Panel: Sport and Body Culture in Southeast Asia 
conveners: Lena Pawelke (University Freiburg), Friederike Trotier (Goethe University Frankfurt)
panel abstract
“Sport has the power to change the world.” (Nelson Mandela) In every part of the world, sport in its diverse facets 
fascinates people and penetrates many segments of modern societies. Southeast Asia is not an exception although 
sporting practices have so far attracted little attention in Southeast Asian Studies. Nevertheless, sport and body culture 
have not only been embraced by the Southeast Asian populations but even more by governments and NGOs to en-
hance e.g. nation-building, education, health, community development and social inclusion. Hence, sport - elite and 
high-performance as well as sport on grassroots and community levels in the context of sport for all - crosses many 
fields and can therefore be examined from different disciplinary angles, be it sociology, anthropology, history, sport 
studies, or political sciences. This panel aims to shed light on sport, physical exercise and body culture in the context 
of Southeast Asia.
— Losing Ground: Exodus of Women Bodybuilders to Women’s Physique 
Airnel Abarra (Ateneo de Davao University)
In the recent years, women’s bodybuilding had been subjected to different changes in categories. One of them is the 
introduction of women’s physique both in amateur and professional bodybuilding organizations. On the author’s 
observation, based on different accounts in social media, many former amateur and professional women’s bodybuild-

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ing competitors are shifting their competition career to women’s physique category which is according to the Inter-
national Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) is “aimed at women who prefer to develop a less muscular, yet athletic 
and aesthetically pleasing physique, unlike today’s current bodybuilders.” With this category, competitors are bound 
to choose a new path and prefer to compete in the women’s physique category and making contests solely for women 
bodybuilders to dwindle making the latter getting not much attention as seen with the removal of the 2014 Ms. Inter-
national competition as well as reduction of women’s bodybuilding competitions as compared to women’s physique. 
That’s why the purpose of the study is to identify the reasons of competitors why they prefer to compete in women’s 
physique or stay as female bodybuilder. Through case studies both of women’s bodybuilding and physique competi-
tors which include journal accounts, immersion, and interviews in a contest season, the study will try to find out what 
are their reasons in staying or moving in a bodybuilding or physique competition category which may cite personal 
and economic reasons. The researcher will also use autoethnographic process by training and possibly competing in a 
bodybuilding competition in order to closely interact and experience the most of the aspects of life with women body-
builders and physique athletes in order to fully understand their situations. The research will also assess how market 
forces in the discipline of bodybuilding affects the career path of women competitors. This study is of significance as 
it will help to further understand how women’s bodybuilding are subjected to changes which will enable academicians 
and bodybuilding community to discuss issues for women in the sport as well provide better conditions and positive 
image of women bodybuilders as a whole.
— The Buddhist Basketball Association: Sport Practice and the Cultivation of the Body among Tai Lue Monastics
Roger Casas (Australian National University)
Sipsong Panna, in southern Yunnan Province, is home to the Tai Lue, the largest community of Theravada Buddhists 
in China. After the repression of the Maoist period, the reforms implemented in the country at the end of the 1970s 
paved the way for a strong recovery of religious practice among the Lue, and today, despite decreasing numbers of 
ordinations, spending at least a few years in the temple remains an important rite of passage for local male youths. 
Around a hundred young monks and novices live and study at present at the Buddhist College established in Jinghong 
City, the administrative capital of the region, in the mid-1990s. In this hybrid institution, monks and novices attend 
lessons on both religious and secular subjects belonging to the national-level education curriculum. Same as their 
counterparts studying in public primary and middle schools all around Sipsong Panna, students at the Buddhist Col-
lege must thus participate in physical education, something that goes apparently against what is considered proper or 
acceptable for monastics in other countries in Southeast Asia. But the enthusiasm with which Tai Lue monastics have 
embraced the practice of sport (and of basketball in particular) goes well beyond the governing requirements of the 
Chinese state, and points to a traditional autochthonous interest in body culture among Lue males. 
Linking the discussion to different issues such as local martial arts and invulnerability techniques, or the contem-
porary promotion of sport practice by different levels of government, this paper will explore the significance of this 
practice and of the cultivation of the body among Tai Lue monastics. The temporary nature of ordination will be 
highlighted as a fundamental factor, as the emphasis put by locals on beauty and sexuality before and after marriage 
determines the participation of monks and novices in diverse practices of competitive masculinity.
— Sport for Development in Indonesia – A Case Study of a Soccer for Girls Program in Jakarta
Lena Pawelke (University of Freiburg)
Sport for Development in Indonesia – A Case Study of a Soccer for Girls Program in Jakarta
The international Sport for Development (SfD) movement has advocated the use of sport as a powerful and cost-
effective tool for effecting positive social change in a development context. Physical activity and play, it is argued, 
supports among others gender empowerment, child and youth development, and the fight against discrimination and 
stigmatization.
In Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most-populous country and largest archipelagic state, a growing number of non-
profit organizations are actively using sport and physical exercise in their work. Initial scoping research by the author 
conducted in March 2014 has resulted in a total number of 20 actors active in Indonesia’s SfD space.
This piece of research seeks to describe and categorize one of the SfD projects investigated as part of the initial data 
collection phase. Implemented by one of the largest child-centered community development organizations, the proj-
ect seeks to empower girls in Jakarta through soccer. Working with a number of schools in the country’s capital, the 

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project aims at raising the awareness of students for the negative effects of physical and psychological violence, while 
at the same time seeking to devise strategies to reduce it. A total of 600 girls have been reached by the project through 
soccer training and tournaments and another 1000 students, both boys and girls, from 15 partner schools have been 
engaged through anti-violence and anti-bullying workshops. 
Drawing from the results of interviews with the project staff conducted in March 2014, this paper seeks to 1) describe 
how the organization is using sport, and soccer specifically, in tackling the issue of violence in schools and 2) better 
understand in how far soccer has contributed to the achievement of the project objectives.
— Creating an Image through Sport: Palembang’s Narrative of Success 
Friederike Trotier (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Hosting an international sporting event is seen by many governments as an opportunity to promote a variety of issues 
and agendas such as inculcating a feeling of pride among the citizens of the host city and country, boosting develop-
ment or conveying a positive image of the host to a large international audience. This is especially true in the local 
context of the host city where the event takes place. Drawing from the results of ethnographic fieldwork this paper 
therefore examines the Indonesian city of Palembang as repeated host of international sporting events and how these 
events create an image and narrative of success in regard to the city. The focus lies on the content of the narrative, 
the actors, the benefit and beneficiaries, and on possible counter-narratives. The time frame includes the 2011 SEA 
Games, the 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games and the upcoming 2018 Asian Games.
 Furthermore, the narrative of success can be perceived as a starting point to shed light on Palembang’s potential for 
city marketing and promotion using sport as an “urban event”(Koller 2008) to attract visitors and investors. One sa-
lient promotion strategy is to link different events taking place in Palembang to the image of the city as a “sport city”. 
The 2014 national sports day (Hari Olahraga Nasional) and its ceremony in Palembang serve as an example of this 
strategy and emphasize the importance of performance in the context of marketing a city with the help of sporting 
events.
— Developing the Devils Own Country. The Scouting Movement in Dutch New Guinea, 1950-1962 
Jelle Zondag (Radboud University Nijmegen)
In December 1949 the Netherlands recognized the independence of Indonesia, with the exception of Western New 
Guinea, which was formed into the overseas territory of Dutch New Guinea. The Netherlands founded their claims 
on New Guinea on the basis of art. 73 of the Charter of the United Nations, acknowledging and accepting ‘as a sacred 
trust the obligation to promote to the utmost ... the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end: 
a. to ensure, with due respect to the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational 
advancement ... b. to develop self-government’.
New Guinea was regarded by many Dutch as a very underdeveloped and uninhabitable place, the ‘Devils Own Coun-
try’. They saw it as their duty to guide the Papua population from an indigenous, tribal lifestyle to a more modern and 
Western way of life. Scouting was seen as an important instrument to achieve this goal, both for Papua boys and girls. 
The scouting method, with its emphasis on outdoor activities and playing games in nature, contained both ‘natural’ 
and Western elements and was perceived by the Dutch as extremely fit to ‘acculturate’ the Papuans. According to 
Dutch scouting officials the communal physical activities of the scouting movement would teach the Papua youth 
self-reliance, enhance community-building and make them into proper citizens.
However, scouting was also an instrument for the Dutch to pacify the Papuan population. Stress on sportsman-
ship and fair play had to pacify internal disputes between different Papua tribes. Indigenous scouting officials were 
recruited from boarding schools of the Papua elite. Scouting was a way to commit these elite Papuans to the Dutch 
administration. Involvement in the scouting movement would prevent young Papuans of becoming involved in more 
radical political movements. Furthermore, the Dutch used the Papua scouts as propaganda tools. At several Scouting 
Jamborees, young and educated Papua scouts were presented to the world as a proof that the Dutch took their ‘sacred 
trust’ seriously.
Papuans adopted scouting as a means to gather economic, social and political capital. Papua scouts used their uni-
forms to engage in economic activities and deploy themselves as working units. The hierarchic system of the scouting 
movement was attractive to them, as advancing in rank led to an increase in social status. For Papua scouts, Jamborees 
became moments to come into contact with fellow scouts of other Asian countries. In theses contacts, politics would 

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inevitably come up, which triggered thoughts about autonomy and self-government amongst Papuan scouts.
At the end of the 1950s, plans for Papua self-government accelerated. This was reflected in the scouting movement, 
which started to stress the importance of scouting for creating leadership skills and administrative responsibilities. 
The scouting cadre became indigenised, as leadership positions in the scouting movement were increasingly filled 
by Papuans. In the early 1960s several prominent Papua politicians, union leaders, government officials and ecclesial 
ministers were educated through scouting.
In 1962 the Dutch handed over the control of New Guinea to the United Nations, after which it became part of Indo-
nesia. Dutch involvement in New Guinea waned and the scouting movement became an exclusively Papua affair. How 
can we assess the role of sports and physical exercise (e.g. scouting) as a tool for cultural, social and political change?
— Intercultural co-operation management in an sport-for-development project in Thailand
Berndt Tausch (Step Foundation), Petra Giess-Stueber (University of Freiburg)
Lindsay and Grattan (2012) argue that emerging literature primarily presents sport-for-development as an interna-
tional practice undertaken within the Global South but supported and largely driven from the Global North. These 
interactions between donor and beneficiary organisations in the delivery of intercultural developmental projects are 
often affected by controversial and conflicting operational processes (Ehlers, 2011). We will discuss intercultural is-
sues of project management.
A model of intercultural cooperation management (Wojda, Herford & Barth, 2006; Zimmermann, 2008) proposes ten 
factors of successful intercultural co-operation management. Based on a sport- for-development-program of a Ger-
man donor agency (step foundation) supporting a welfare boarding school in Thailand (School for Life) it is analysed 
to which extent the proposed factors are taken into account. The reconstruction of a 10-year experience turns out two 
key factors: Firstly, both donor and beneficiary organisation have to define their capability for co-operation as well 
as their availability of resources. Secondly, to achieve developmental outcomes cultural factors within Western donor 
agency and the Thai beneficiary organization should be considered and dealt with at eye level.
Introducing diversity management in the context of intercultural co-operations will enhance the management skills 
of donor and beneficiary organisations. Furthermore it will change the organisational culture of the ‘School for Life’. 
The results have to prove its evidence in further research. The implementation of diversity management will help to 
overcome the predominance of top-down decision making within sport-for-development programs.
VIII. Societal Challenges, Inequality and Conflicts
Panel: Religion, Pluralism and Nation-Building in Divided Societies:  
Historical, Political and Sociological Approaches 
conveners: Chiara Formichi (Cornell University), Kikue Hamayotsu (Northern Illinois University)
discussant: Mirjam Kuenkler (Princeton Unviersity)
panel abstract
Southeast Asian societies are grappling with new problems of religious conflict and nation-building derived from 
the dramatic political and socio-cultural transformations since the last decade. Why are some states/regimes better 
equipped to deal with religious division and dissention than others in the process of democratic transition and consol-
idation? What are the historical and institutional foundations of anti-minority violence? Are the constitutional/legal 
foundations of religious freedom and minority rights adequate to maintain peaceful inter-religious relations in deeply 
divided societies such as Burma, Indonesia, and Malaysia? What are the strategies and/or mechanisms that religious 
and secular civil society actors adopt to appease anti-minority movements in state and society? How do religious lead-
ers and organizations deal with the concepts of pluralism and religious minorities in a democratic context? The panel 
seeks to address such issues of scholarly and policy concern from a historical, political and sociological perspective 
to make a contribution to the broader debates concerning religious conflict, state-religion relations, minority rights, 
pluralism, and nation-building.

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— Between Colonial Legacies and National Policies: The Racialization of Religious Groups and Its Impact on 
Social (Dis)Unity
Chiara Formichi (Cornell University)
Taking stock of Asia’s diversity, this paper emerges from a larger project comparing the status of religious minorities 
in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Focusing on the interaction of government policies, social attitudes, and co-
lonial legacies, this research delves into the question of how legislations and policies designed to “manage” ethnic and 
religious groups affect the ways societies interface with diversity. 
For a narrower focus, this paper analyses how colonial and post-colonial governments shaped “racial” and “religious” 
identities through laws and educational policies, and how this process affects the formation of national societies most 
notably “creating” ethno-religious minorities, as well as “creating” majorities. Grounded on archival and ethnographic 
fieldwork, the paper engages also with two theoretical frameworks: Peletz’s definition of “pluralism” helps embracing 
a qualitative understanding of diversity (Gender Pluralism, 2009) and Brubaker’s criticism of fixed ethnic “groups” 
contributes to reconstructing belonging as an evolving process (Ethnicity without Groups, 2004).
— Democratization, Regime Formation and Religious Minorities in Indonesia and Malaysia
Kikue Hamayotsu (Northern Illinois University)
The rising trend of ultra-conservative Islamism and anti-minority violence since the mid-2000s in two Muslim-ma-
jority nations in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia, raises theoretically important questions about the political 
and social status of religious minorities and relations between various religious communities in an emerging Muslim-
majority democracy. This paper adopts comparative and historical institutional approaches to search for an explana-
tion for this phenomenon. Paired comparison of these Southeast Asian cases suggests that the political imperatives 
of regime formation and survival at a critical historical juncture, either under an autocratic and democratic rule, 
conditions the way in which largely secular Muslim ruling elites relate to religious (primarily Islamic) elites and civil 
society, resulting in particular state policies and attitudes towards religious minorities. Based on comparative case 
studies, original empirical data, and historical accounts in both countries, I argue that anti-minority mass mobiliza-
tion is primarily the result of political and religious elites’ quest for power in order to secure and reinforce their regime 
in the face of perceived threat to their support base and authority. I also test the theoretical and conceptual validity of 
alternative explanations, namely electoral incentives, radical Islamism, and nation-building.
— Becoming Majority: Chinese Muslims, Islamic Preaching and Cultural Diversity in Malaysia 
Wai Weng Hew (Zentrum Moderner Orient)
Instead of being a ‘marginalized minority’, Chinese Muslims are becoming ‘religious majority’ (not in the sense of 
numbers, but their influences and popularity) in Malaysia in the last few years. In this paper, I examine how and under 
what conditions, Chinese Muslims become ‘majority’ through three case studies: Firdaus Wong and his street dakwah 
activities; Sharin Low and his Chinese halal restaurants, Felixia Yeap and her modelling for Islamic fashion. In general, 
they are well accepted by many Malay Muslims, but criticized by some Chinese non-Muslims. Remarkably, they often 
adopt Chinese cultural elements in their religious activities, for example: Firdaus Wong wears traditional Chinese 
clothing in his preaching, Sharin Low hosts Chinese New Year celebrations at his restaurant and Felixia Yeap has her 
photo-shooting session in front of a Chinese-style garden. Yet, their support for cultural diversity does not necessar-
ily followed by their endorsement on religious pluralism, but encompassed by religious conservatism: the orthodox 
understanding of Islam, the consumption of halal food and the promotion of proper Muslim dresses. Their Islamic 
preaching activities to non-Muslims, often endorsed or sponsored by the state authorities, also draw criticisms from 
non-Muslims: non-Muslims are not allowed to preach other religions to Muslim, yet Muslims with the support of state 
agencies are active in spreading Islam among non-Muslims. By looking at the religious activities of Chinese Muslims, 
this paper investigates the intersection of cultural diversity and religious conservatism, the interaction between ethnic 
minority and religious majority, as well as the tension between Islamic preaching and religious freedom in Malaysia.

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— Mechanisms of Minority-Exclusion: Debating the Ahmadiyya and Other ‘Deviants’ in Indonesia and Malaysia 
Saskia Schäfer (Columbia University)
In both Indonesia as well as Malaysia, attacks against so-called ‘deviant groups and teachings’ (aliran sesat; ajaran 
sesat) as well as public discussions on them have increased in recent years. This talk focusses on the public debates on 
the Ahmadiyya, a group that has been persecuted for its supposedly heterodox beliefs. Besides outlining the most im-
portant voices and actors in the debates, I look at the arguments and mechanisms of exclusion. How are the languages 
of religion, security, human rights and nationalism employed and what effects do they have?
Panel: Mapping Uncivil Society Organizations in Maritime Southeast Asia 
conveners: Tomas Petru (Czech Academy of Sciences), Gunnar Stange (Goethe University Frankfurt)
panel abstract
This panel aims at bringing together researchers from various academic fields in order to gain a comprehensive un-
derstanding of what could be labelled “uncivil society organizations” in three large countries of Maritime Southeast 
Asia, i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. These organizations are prevalently self-proclaimed quasi-official 
groups. Their hallmark is their tendency to resort to violence and other disruptive (uncivil) behaviour as strategic 
political means to either defend existing normative orders they deem to be threatened or to impose new ones based 
on religious and/or ethnic convictions. While both state and non-state / anti-state structures are fairly well-researched 
in this area, a comparative approach to this phenomenon in the region has yet to be taken.
The more sophisticated of these groupings tend to affiliate themselves with strongly religious or ethnic identities, 
which gives them a degree of legitimacy and a greater modus operandi. Due to the wide range and different types of 
these entities, our aim is to reconnoiter the landscape theoretically. Besides mapping the situation, we will attempt to 
seek answers for questions such as:
•  How do these groupings complement – or at times replace – official state structures, what are their actual ties to 
and in how far are they exploited by ruling elites and vice versa?
•  Is their uncivil character aimed at disrupting the status quo or do they also stand up for maintaining it?
•  What are fruitful dimension and categories in which these groups can be compared to each other and, therefore, 
better understood?
•  Given the often violent and illegal character of these organizations, what are methodological constraints when 
embarking on empirical research on such groups?