政治経済共生研究部門・日本学術振興会外国人特別研究員
PhD in Political Science and Southeast Asian Studies (Northern Illinois University) 　
Specialty: Comparative Politics, Political Theory, Southeast Asian Studies

Hello everyone, this is Iqra. I am a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University. Concurrently, I also serve as a non-resident Research Associate for the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Education, and Information (LP3ES) in Jakarta, Indonesia.

　 I will stay at the Center for two years (August 2019-August 2021) to conduct research on agrarian politics in contemporary Indonesia. A political scientist by training, I received my PhD in Political Science and Southeast Asian Studies from Northern Illinois University in 2018. However, I ended up wearing many different hats – sometimes I am mistaken as an anthropologist, a political theorist, or a policy analyst, all of them I take as badges of honor.

　 My current book project during my stay at CSEAS discusses varieties of responses from organized peasants and their activist allies in facing agrarian change in post-authoritarian Indonesia. I seek to find out why some peasant groups choose to decommodify market relations while others decide to embrace it. Other than that, my larger research and teaching interests revolve around the questions of development, democracy, and class relations, among others.

　 My interaction with CSEAS dated back to my college and graduate school days in Kyushu, an interaction that has been maintained by my participation in several CSEAS events, such as the 2016 Southeast Asian Studies in Asia Conference and working relationships with Okamoto-Sensei and some other scholars and experts who have been affiliated with CSEAS in one way or another. I am thrilled to become a part of the CSEAS team and look forward to contributing to the vibrant Southeast Asian Studies community here.

　 Prior to my arrival to our Center, I did a research fellowship with the Australian National University’s New Mandala. Previously I held fellowships with Harvard Kennedy School’s Transparency for Development Project, the University of Sydney’s Southeast Asia Centre, and the Asia Culture Center. During my downtime, I enjoy running, cooking, and looking for the best coffeehouse in town.