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Centre for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia

Societies in Southeast Asia are currently undergoing social, political and cultural transformation amidst the unprecedented changes in the international environment and order. The transition from authoritarian rule to democracy is but one of the many complexities encountered by the region. While they are in the process of charting their individual paths towards democracy, Southeast Asian societies continue to be hampered by corruption, regimes reluctant for total change, patron-clientelism in politics, communitarian violence, separatist movements and terrorism. Pusat Studi Sosial Asia Tenggara or the Centre for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESSAS) at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, seeks to respond to the issue of mutual understanding amongst societies and nations from the region brought by the ever-expanding awareness of its people about their regional interconnectedness. As such, a shared feeling of regional unity may have developed amongst the people in the region but tension and prejudice may also exist amongst people and societies in the area. A deep-seated knowledge about the complexity found in each country and the region as a whole is imperative to understand the diverging trajectories the region and its societies are taking. Despite such diversity and differences, it is possible for a common and shared ground for the people in Southeast Asia.