From the Punjab to Aceh, from Bougainville to Pakistan, ethnic conflicts and insurgencies that once claimed many thousands of lives every year have over the last decade seemed to decline in intensity. This public discussion aims to tease out some of the explanations for what seems to be a broad regional trend, and to think about the exceptions.

An example of collaborative research in action, the session is the culmination of a series of almost twenty case study seminars in the second half of 2008 and the start of a one day workshop for researchers who specialize in ethnic and nationalist conflicts across Asia and the Pacific.

Hosting this session are three members of the University’s Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies:

- Robin Jeffrey, an expert on India, especially the Punjab.
- Edward Aspinall, a specialist on Indonesia, especially Aceh.
- Anthony Regan, a specialist on the conflicts in Bougainville and Northeast India.