Epistemic Infrastructures of Planetary Health Governance in Southeast Asia
Explore how knowledge systems shape environmental governance in Southeast Asia. Investigate the power of epistemic infrastructures and their role in marginalizing local knowledges while legitimizing large-scale development. Challenge dominant narratives and propose just, pluralistic governance frameworks.
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Project Description
Project Overview
This project examines how knowledge systems influence planetary health governance in Southeast Asia amid climate change and ecological degradation. It critically analyses ‘epistemic infrastructures’—material, institutional, and discursive frameworks shaping evidence, expertise, and knowledge circulation. The focus is on the mediation between local environmental knowledges and global planetary health frameworks, and the geopolitical distribution of epistemic authority.
Key research questions include: How epistemic injustices shape whose futures are envisioned, which knowledge forms are marginalized in policy, and how alternative epistemic infrastructures can foster more just governance. The research draws on science and technology studies, global governance, and multispecies ethnography, positioning Southeast Asia as an intervention site and lab challenging universalising Anthropocene narratives.
Case studies include controversial sustainable development projects, such as Indonesia’s Nusantara Capital City, Malaysia’s Forest City, and the Philippines’ New Clark City, illustrating how techno-scientific rationales legitimize large-scale interventions while sidelining alternative knowledge systems.
What You Will Do
Engage with interdisciplinary theories and methodologies to explore the social, political, and epistemic dimensions of planetary health governance. Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team spanning the University of Sydney and University of Glasgow. Conduct ethnographic and governance-focused research in Southeast Asia, connecting academic insights with policy implications.
Participate in vibrant academic communities and disseminate findings through workshops, seminars, and international conferences across sociology, anthropology, social and political sciences.
Expected Outcomes
The research will elucidate power dynamics embedded in knowledge production relating to planetary health governance. It aims to reveal how epistemic infrastructures produce uneven effects on communities, fostering pathways towards pluralistic, decolonial, and equitable governance modalities for planetary health challenges.
Why This Matters
This work addresses urgent global challenges of environmental justice, climate change, and health inequities by scrutinizing the politics of knowledge. It supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals including No Poverty, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, and Reduced Inequalities. The research contributes to interdisciplinary agendas focused on social justice, sustainable futures, and peace-building at local and global scales.
Eligibility
Supervisor Profile
Prof Sonja van Wichelen is an expert in social and political sciences, focusing on the intersections of culture, politics, and knowledge production in global and regional contexts. Her work often explores questions of identity, governance, and social justice using interdisciplinary approaches. She leads research that critically engages with epistemic infrastructures, especially in relation to marginalized communities and environmental governance.