Ben Kerkvliet, BA (Whitman), MA, PhD (Wisconsin), FAHA
Professor, Department of Political and Social Change

Email: Ben.Kerkvliet@anu.edu.au

Biographical Statement

Growing up in a small town on the plains of Montana (USA), Ben was surrounded by working class relatives and friends for whom political discussion and debate were part of life. That background helps to account for his research interests until today. After graduating from the local public high school, he earned degrees at Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington) and the University of Wisconsin (Madison), then taught for nearly twenty years at the University of Hawai'i (Honolulu) before joining the ANU in 1992.

Research Interests

Comparative politics; Southeast Asia; Asian studies.

Fascinated with how ordinary people deal with big pressures on their lives, Ben has emphasized research on agrarian politics in Southeast Asia. Closely related is his study of interactions between ordinary people and authorities or other elites. He is currently researching local reactions to major recent national policies in the Philippines and Vietnam.

Key Publications

• The Huk Rebellion: Study of Peasant Revolt in the Philippines, University of California Press, 1977 and (new edition) Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
• Everyday Politics in the Philippines, University of California Press, 1990 and (new edition) Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
• Land Struggles and Land Regimes in the Philippines and Vietnam during the 20th Century, CASA, Amsterdam, 1997.
• The Power of Everyday Politics: How Vietnamese Peasants Transformed National Policy, Cornell University Press, 2005.

Career Highlights

Faculty member, University of Hawaii (1971-91); faculty member, ANU (1992-present); working with industrious graduate students; various fellowships and awards for research and teaching; and living in and doing research in the Philippines and Vietnam.