Dr DB Subedi
Lecturer
School of Political Science and International Studies
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Convenor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Postgraduate Convenor of Mediation and Conflict Resolution Studies
+61 7 334 69938
Researcher biography
DB's research interest includes conflict transformation and peacebuilding, the intersection of religion and politics, and populism and nationalism in the Asia Pacific region. Currently, his research is focused on exploring the dilemmas and complexities associated with peacebuilding in authoritarian, populist and nationalist states across South and Southeast Asia. He has conducted research fieldwork across South and Southeast Asia, especially Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, and Myanmar.
He is the author of Combatants to Civilians: Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Maoist Fighters in Nepal's Peace Process (Palgrave, 2018) and co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Populism in the Asia Pacific (Routledge, 2024) and Reconciliation in Conflict-Affected Communities: Practices and Insights from the Asia Pacific. He has also published his research in scholarly journals such as World Development, Contemporary South Asia, Religion & Politics, Asian Studies Review, Journal of Human Rights, Conflict, Security & Development and Contemporary Politics. He is a Research Member in the 'Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation into Terrorism' (AVERT) Research Network at the Deakin University in Melbourne.
Before coming to the academia, he worked with several international organisations for more than ten years in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. Since 2010, he has been actively collaborating with government and non-government organizations and has provided research and consultancy service to several agencies including United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, ActionAid Myanmar, UNICEF, International Alert UK, Care International and Mercy Corps. In 2022, he supported the Connected Communities team in NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet to develop and implement the evaluation framework and plan for NSW's Countering Violent Extremism Programme.
Books
Subedi, D. B., Brasted, Howard, von Strokirch, Karin and Scott, Alan eds. (2023). The Routledge handbook of populism in the Asia Pacific. London, United Kingdom: Routledge India. doi: 10.4324/9781003160014
Subedi, D. B. (2018). Combatants to civilians: rehabilitation and reintegration of Maoist fighters in Nepal's peace process. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK. doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-58672-8
Book Chapters
Scott, Alan, Subedi, D. B., Brasted, Howard and von Strokirch, Karin (2024). Populism's shifting meanings and geographical diffusion. The Routledge handbook of populism in the Asia Pacific. (pp. 1-16) edited by D. B. Subedi, Howard Brasted, Karin von Strokirch and Alan Scott. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003160014-2
DB Subedi and Siri Hettige (2023). Contemporary Sri Lanka: Nationalism meets ‘soft populism’. The Routledge Handbook of Populism in the Asia Pacific. (pp. 208-223) edited by D.B. Subedi, Howard Brasted, Karin von Strokirch and Alan Scott. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003160014-20
Subedi, D. B. and Lim, Francis K. G. (2023). Religion, secularism and populism in contemporary Asia. The Routledge Handbook of Populism in the Asia Pacific. (pp. 120-133) edited by D.B. Subedi, Howard Brasted, Karin von Strokirch and Alan Scott. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003160014-12
Subedi, D. B. and Scott, Alan (2023). Charismatic leadership, leader democracy, and populism in Asia. The Routledge Handbook of Populism in the Asia Pacific. (pp. 89-104) edited by D.B. Subedi, Howard Brasted, Karin von Strokirch and Alan Scott. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003160014-9
Subedi, D.B. (2022). Religion, extremism and Buddhist–Muslim relations in Sri Lanka. Religion, Extremism and Violence in South Asia. (pp. 45-70) edited by Imran Ahmed, Zahid Shahab Ahmed, Howard Brasted and Shahram Akbarzadeh. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-6847-0_3
Subedi, D. B. (2020). Post-conflict crime and violence in Nepal: trends, dynamics and drivers. Routledge handbook of South Asian criminology. (pp. 220-234) edited by K. Jaishankar. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429320118-21
Subedi, D. B. (2019). Economic rehabilitation of terrorists: what can be learned from disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes?. Deradicalisation and terrorist rehabilitation: a framework for policy-making and implementation. (pp. 46-63) edited by Rohan Gunaratna and Sabariah Hussin. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Jenkins, Kathy, Subedi, D. B. and Jenkins, Bert (2018). Introduction: Reconciliation-a transformatory process across culture and society. Reconciliation in conflict-affected communities: practices and insights from the Asia-Pacific. (pp. 1-19) edited by Bert Jenkins, D. B. Subedi and Kathy Jenkins. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-6800-3_1
Subedi, D. B. and Bulathsinghala, Frances (2018). Sri Lanka's developmental path to reconciliation: narratives and counter-narratives from the margins. Reconciliation in conflict-affected communities: practices and insights from the Asia-Pacific. (pp. 91-110) edited by Bert Jenkins, D. B. Subedi and Kathy Jenkins. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-6800-3_6
Jenkins, Bert, Jenkins, Kathy and Subedi, D. B. (2018). Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific: a concluding review of ten case studies. Reconciliation in conflict-affected communities: practices and insights from the Asia-Pacific. (pp. 207-233) edited by Bert Jenkins, D. B. Subedi and Kathy Jenkins. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-6800-3_12
Subedi, D. B. and Jenkins, Bert (2017). The nexus between reintegration of ex-combatants and reconciliation in Nepal: a social capital approach. Reconciliation in conflict-affected communities: practices and insights from the Asia-Pacific. (pp. 41-56) edited by Bert Jenkins, D. B. Subedi and Kathy Jenkins. Singapore, Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-6800-3_3
Jenkins, Bert, Subedi, D. B. and Jenkins, Kathy (2017). Preface. Reconciliation in conflict-affected communities: practices and insights from the Asia-Pacific. (pp. v-vi) edited by Bert Jenkins, D. B. Subedi and Kathy Jenkins. Singapore, Singapore: Springer Singapore.
Journal Articles
Jayasundara‐Smits, Shyamika and Subedi, D. B. (2024). Authoritarian populist politics, politico‐religious extremism, and violence against women in post‐war Sri Lanka. World Affairs, 187 (2), 213-230. doi: 10.1002/waf2.12017
Mostofa, Shafi Md., Subedi, D. B. and Brasted, Howard (2024). Introduction to the special issue: Authoritarianism and religion in South Asia: Trends and twists. World Affairs, 187 (2), 130-136. doi: 10.1002/waf2.12014
Paudel, Prakash, Subedi, D. B. and Winterford, Keren (2023). A conflict-sensitivity dilemma: how conflict denialism constrains spaces for conflict-sensitive actions for peacebuilding. Development in Practice, 33 (5), 599-611. doi: 10.1080/09614524.2023.2220990
Shrestha, Ramesh and Subedi, Dambaru (2022). Youth, politics, and youth-led political violence in Nepal. Asian Politics and Policy, 14 (3), 332-350. doi: 10.1111/aspp.12658
Subedi, D. B. (2022). Rethinking peacebuilding in the age of populism. Peace Review, 33 (4), 495-505. doi: 10.1080/10402659.2021.2043009
Sultana, Habiba and Subedi, D. B. (2021). Power, identity and precarity: Sex workers' "lived experience" of violence and social injustice in Bangladesh. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 32 (3), 324-339. doi: 10.1111/taja.12410
Subedi, D. B. (2021). The emergence of populist nationalism and 'illiberal' peacebuilding in Sri Lanka. Asian Studies Review, 46 (2), 272-292. doi: 10.1080/10357823.2021.1983519
Subedi, D. B., Nanau, Gordon and Magar, Dip (2021). From a 'cultural logic' to an 'institutional logic': the politics of human rights in Pacific Island Countries. Journal of Human Rights, 20 (5), 528-546. doi: 10.1080/14754835.2021.1947207
Mostofa, Shafi Md and Subedi, D. B. (2021). Rise of competitive authoritarianism in Bangladesh. Politics and Religion, 14 (3) PII S1755048320000401, 431-459. doi: 10.1017/s1755048320000401
Subedi, D. B. and Scott, Alan (2021). Populism, authoritarianism, and charismatic-plebiscitary leadership in contemporary Asia: a comparative perspective from India and Myanmar. Contemporary Politics, 27 (5), 487-507. doi: 10.1080/13569775.2021.1917162
Subedi, D. B. and Garnett, Johanna (2020). De-mystifying Buddhist religious extremism in Myanmar: confrontation and contestation around religion, development and state-building. Conflict, Security and Development, 20 (2), 223-246. doi: 10.1080/14678802.2020.1739859
Agastia, I Gusti Bagus Dharma, Perwita, Anak Agung Banyu and Subedi, D. B. (2020). Countering violent extremism through state-society partnerships: a case study of de-radicalisation programmes in Indonesia. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 15 (1), 23-43. doi: 10.1080/18335330.2020.1722317
Subedi, D. B. and Bhattarai, Prakash (2017). The April Uprising: how a nonviolent struggle explains the transformation of armed conflict in Nepal. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 12 (3), 85-97. doi: 10.1080/15423166.2017.1372795
Subedi, D.B. (2017). Managing Armed groups in Myanmar's peace process. CSG Papers (18).
Subedi, D. B. (2017). Early warning and response for preventing radicalization and violent extremism. Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 29 (2), 135-143. doi: 10.1080/10402659.2017.1308185
Subedi, D.B. and Jenkins, Bert (2016). Preventing and countering violent extremism: engaging peacebuilding and development actors. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis, 8 (10), 13-19.
Sultana, Habiba and Subedi, D. B. (2016). Caste system and resistance: the case of untouchable Hindu sweepers in Bangladesh. International Journal of Politics Culture and Society, 29 (1), 19-32. doi: 10.1007/s10767-015-9202-6
Subedi, D. B. (2015). Security dimension of post-conflict recovery: Nepal's experience in disarmament and demobilisation of People's Liberation Army fighters. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 28 (2), 143-159. doi: 10.1007/s10767-014-9184-9
Subedi, Dambaru B. (2014). Conflict, combatants, and cash: economic reintegration and livelihoods of ex-combatants in Nepal. World Development, 59, 238-250. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.01.025
Subedi, D. B. (2014). Ex-combatants, security and post-conflict violence: unpacking the experience from Nepal. Millennial Asia, 5 (1), 41-65. doi: 10.1177/0976399613518857
Subedi, D. B. (2013). “Pro-Peace Entrepreneur” or “Conflict Profiteer”? Critical perspective on the private sector and peacebuilding in Nepal. Peace and Change, 38 (2), 181-206. doi: 10.1111/pech.12011
Subedi, D. (2013). From civilian to combatant: armed recruitment and participation in the Maoist conflict in Nepal. Contemporary South Asia, 21 (4), 429-443. doi: 10.1080/09584935.2013.856868
Subedi, D. B. (2012). Economic dimension of peacebuilding: insights into post-conflict economic recovery and development in Nepal. South Asia Economic Journal, 13 (2), 313-332. doi: 10.1177/1391561412459387
Subedi, D. B. (2011). Rehabilitation and reintegration of the Maoist ex-combatants in Nepal: issues, challenges and potential lessons. Contributions to Nepalese Studies, 38 (2), 143-170.
Newspaper Articles
Subedi, D. B. and Garnett, Johanna (2021, 02 18). How is Myanmar’s military coup revealing the youth’s changing political culture? Australian Outlook
Subedi, D. B. and Timilsina, Bikram (2021, 01 08). Border disputes between India and Nepal: will India act as a responsible rising power? Australian Outlook
Subedi, D.B. (2020, 11 06). Why Myanmar’s election is unlikely to herald major political reform or support transition to democracy The Conversation
Subedi, D. B., Imtiaz, Zahrah and Sarvananthan, Muttukrishna (2019, 05 02). After the Easter bombings, Sri Lanka needs effective initiatives for countering violent extremism Australian Outlook
Subedi, D. B. (2017, 03 17). Myanmar’s ‘Rohingya issue’ is a regional refugee crisis – ASEAN must intervene The Conversation