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SOAS Alumni Receptions in Southeast Asia
Key information
- Date
- to
- Venue
- Singapore | Jakarta | Bangkok | Hong Kong
- Event type
- Alumni reception
About this event
We are delighted to invite you to our annual Vice‑Chancellor Alumni Receptions in Southeast Asia this April & May.
These events feature a panel led by Professor Adam Hanieh, joined by distinguished SOAS alumni speakers from across the region, exploring: A New Global Order? Implications of the US–Israeli Attacks on Iran for the Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia.
Each reception, chaired by Vice‑Chancellor Professor Adam Habib, will offer dynamic discussion, an interactive Q&A, networking with alumni and sector professionals and updates from SOAS.
Whether you live or work in Southeast Asia, we would be delighted to meet you on one or more of these dates:
- Singapore: Monday 27 April, 19.00 - 22.00.
- Jakarta: Thursday 30 April, 19.00 - 22.00.
- Bangkok: Tuesday 5 May, 19.00 - 22.00.
- Hong Kong: Monday 11 May, 19.00 - 22.00.
All venues will be announced soon.
The Panel
A New Global Order? Implications of the US–Israeli Attacks on Iran for the Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia.
The recent US–Israeli attacks on Iran mark one of the most serious escalations in Middle East geopolitics in decades, raising urgent questions about the future of regional stability and the international order.
For China and countries across Southeast Asia that rely heavily on Gulf energy supplies, the crisis poses significant challenges around energy security, global trade routes, and the dynamics of great-power rivalry. Conversely, the Middle East depends heavily on migrant workers from Southeast and South Asia, who support crucial sectors of their economies. These issues raise questions about the sustainability of the existing international order.
These events bring together leading academic and alumni experts to examine these developments in relation to the deeper transformations in the global order and explore how the conflict may reverberate across the Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia.
About the speakers
Dr Adam Hanieh
Dr Adam Hanieh is Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute, MBI Jaber Chair of Middle East Studies, and Professor in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS.
Previously, he held a joint professorship in Middle East Studies at the University of Exeter and Tsinghua University.
He serves on the Board of Directors of MERIP and is a Research Fellow at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. His recent book, Crude Capitalism (Verso, 2024), co-won the 2025 American Sociological Association award for Best Book by an International Scholar.
Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Habib
Professor Adam Habib is Vice-Chancellor of SOAS University and a political scientist, academic leader and public intellectual with more than 30 years of experience across South Africa and the UK. Before joining SOAS, he served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), where he oversaw major growth in research output, student success, and international standing.
He previously held senior leadership roles at the University of Johannesburg, driving a significant expansion in research and the training of early‑career scholars. He is also a co‑founder of the African Research Universities Alliance.
Professor Habib has published widely on democratisation, social movements, inequality, philanthropy, and South Africa’s evolving role globally. His academic contributions have earned him election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he is a fellow of both the African Academy of Science and the Academy of Science of South Africa.
