Cambodia and the Paris Peace Accords

Asialink

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Event Details

Asialink at the University of Melbourne and the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) invite you to attend a special launch of a publication commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords featuring some of the key players in the Accords process.

In October 2021, Asialink and AIIA organised a two-day conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the 1991 Agreements on the Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict.

Our conference, entitled "Cambodia and the Evolution of Peacebuilding: The Role of the Paris Peace Accords", looked at the central role Australia paid in both the diplomatic endeavour to secure the agreement and its execution in the establishment of UNTAC.

This event was supported with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Defence. We are now pleased to launch a publication that incorporates the main contributions from our conference, including papers from leading Australian and Asian participants in the Paris negotiations and commentators on the peace process.

We hope you can join us for what we hope will be a stimulating and rewarding discussion on an important episode in Australian foreign policy making and diplomacy.

Agenda

October 6, 2022

Main Schedule

17:00 - 17:30

Refreshments and Networking

17:30 - 19:00

Cambodia and the Paris Peace Accords

Dr Katrin Travouillon

Lt Gen John Sanderson AC FAIIA

Michael Costello AO FAIIA

Speakers

Dr Katrin Travouillon

Lecturer at The Australian National University

Lt Gen John Sanderson AC FAIIA

Force Commander, 1992-1993 at United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia

Michael Costello AO FAIIA

Former Secretary at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

My research traces the transformation of Cambodia’s political system since the signing of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. I first visited Cambodia in 2005 and spent half a year in a small rural village to conduct a survey for an international development organization. I have been fascinated by the country, its people and the Khmer language ever since. A particular focus of my work lies on the transnational sphere as a public arena that shapes the identities, ideas, and interests of Cambodia’s political actors. Drawing on archival materials and interviews, I explore the sources of legitimacy that Cambodian actors mobilize to shape their policies and build authority vis-à-vis their international and local audience.

Past research projects include the DFG (German Research Foundation) funded project “The Institutionalization of Interpretative Authority in Post-Conflict Societies. An Analysis of the Transitional Authority in Kosovo and Cambodia” (2010-2014). In the context of this project, I followed the trail of documents left by the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC, 1992-93) around the world: I worked in archives in Cambodia, France, and the United States. From 2016 to 2018 I was a Tobis Fellow at the University of California Irvine, where the focus of my research gradually moved to contemporary democratization and nationbuilding practices.

My current work centres on the ways in which politicians and political activists engage with the practice and rhetoric of the ‘international community’ in Cambodia. It emphasizes in the discursive and affective dimensions of political change. Since 2019, I am a member of the editorial team of the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, a publication committed to critical analysis of international interventions, focusing on interactions and practices that shape, influence and transform states and societies.

As a public servant and diplomat, Michael Costello AO FAICD BA LLB (Melb) served as Secretary of the Department of Industrial Relations, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Ambassador to the United Nations, Deputy Head of Current Intelligence at the Office of National Assessments (ONA) and as a director of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC).

Michael holds degrees in arts and law. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He received an Order of Australia (AO) in 1996 for international relations.

He is principal of Michael Costello Associates, is an independent director, strategist and ADR practitioner.

He has two decades' experience in the private sector as CEO of the energy utility ActewAGL (2008-2018), CEO of the water utility ACTEW (2003-2008), and Head of Strategy and Deputy Chief Executive of the Australian Stock Exchange (1996-1998).

Sponsors and Partners

In-person (Canberra)

The in-person event will take place at the AIIA National Conference Center, Suite 1, 32 Thesiger Court Deakin, ACT 2600.

Standard PriceComplimentary

Online

Standard PriceComplimentary

Location

Stephen House, 32 Thesiger Court, Deakin, 2600 ACT

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Event Details