Bio

Michael Buehler (Ph.D., The London School of Economics and Political Science) is an Associate Professor in Comparative Politics in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).  Michael specializes in Southeast Asian politics with particular reference to state-society relations during democratization and decentralization. He published a book with Cambridge University Press titled The Politics of Shari’a Law: Islamist Activists and the State in Democratizing Indonesia; articles in disciplinary journals such as Comparative Politics and Party Politics; area studies journals such as Third World Quarterly and South East Asia Research; chapters in Beyond Oligarchy, Problems of Democratisation in Indonesia, and Deepening Democracy in Indonesia; as well as on-line contributions to Aljazeera, Inside Indonesia, The Diplomat, The Financial Times, and New Mandala.

Previously, Michael taught at Columbia University and Northern Illinois University. In 2020, Michael was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan. From 2013 to 2014, he was a Research Fellow at the Equality Development and Globalization Studies (EDGS) program at Northwestern University in Chicago, USA. From 2008 to 2010, he was the Postdoctoral Fellow in Modern Southeast Asian Studies at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute in New York City, USA. In 2008, he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies in Leiden, The Netherlands. Michael has been an Associate Research Fellow at the Asia Society in New York City, USA since 2011.

Research Interests:  Comparative Politics, Elections, Elites, Indonesia, Islam, Local Politics, Party Politics, Political Sociology, State-Society Relations, Southeast Asia