Kai Ostwald is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), jointly appointed in the School of Public Policy & Global Affairs and the Department of Political Science. He also serves as Director of UBC’s Institute of Asian Research and as Associate Editor (Southeast Asia) for the journal Pacific Affairs.
Prof. Ostwald’s research focuses on democratization, governance, and the political economy of development in Southeast Asia, with particular expertise on Malaysia. He also focuses on Canada’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific region. He has published in leading academic journals, including the American Political Science Review, Democratization, Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, Political Science Research and Methods, Journal of East Asian Studies, and Asian Survey.
Beyond academia, Prof. Ostwald is also a Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and an Associate Senior Fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. He takes part in Track 1.5 and Track 2 diplomatic dialogues and has provided analysis for governmental bodies and international organizations. He has also consulted for institutions such as the International Development Research Centre, the World Bank, and the Canada-ASEAN Business Council. Prof. Ostwald was previously the Chair of the American Political Science Association’s Southeast Asia Politics Related Group and Vice President of the Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Southeast Asia Research Group (SEAREG).
For more information about Prof. Ostwald’s work and an updated CV, please visit his personal website.