Student Profile

David Scott Mathieson

David Scott Mathieson is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS), at the Australian National University. His research looks at the relationship between civilians and insurgents, conflict displacement, the political economy of war, and the politics and history of modern Burma.

David obtained his BA (Hons) at Deakin University in Victoria and his MA (Research) from Flinders University in South Australia. He has tutored in a range of political science topics at Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the Australian National University. In 1998, he co-authored a book (with Dean Jeansch) A Plague on Both Your Houses. Minor Parties in Australia.

During 2002-2005, David conducted fieldwork along the borderlands of Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and India. Much of his time was spent working with displaced Shan communities and refugees along the Northwest Thai border with Burma.

David is the co-editor (with R.J May) of The Illusion of Progress. The Political Economy of Reform in Burma/Myanmar, 2004, co-author (with Desmond Ball) of Militia Redux. The Or Sor and the Revival of Paramilitarism in Thailand, (forthcoming 2006), and a regular contributor to The Irrawaddy, Canberra Times, and The Diplomat.
Email: david.mathieson@anu.edu.au

[Photo caption: David Mathieson on the India-Burma border, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India 2004.]