Michael Buehler

Reader in Comparative Politics at SOAS University of London

London, England, United Kingdom

About

Michael Buehler (Ph.D., The London School of Economics and Political Science) is a Reader 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. For the past 20 years, Michael Buehler has also consulted on aid effectiveness, corruption eradication, party financing, procurement reform and other governance and political reform issues in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and the Western Balkans for, among others, the Asia Foundation, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), Transparency International, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), USAID and the World Bank. Michael has also provided political risks evaluations for private sector companies operating across Asia and is a regular contributor to briefs on political and economic developments in the region for Oxford Analytica, a business consultancy company.

Experience

  • SOAS University of London (Greater London, England, United Kingdom)
    • Reader (Associate Professor) in Comparative Politics
      Aug 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 11 mos

    • Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Comparative Politics
      Aug 2016 - Aug 2022 · 6 yrs 1 mo

    • Lecturer in Comparative Politics
      Aug 2014 - Aug 2016 · 2 yrs 1 mo

  • Southeast Asia Analyst at Oxford Analytica
    Jan 2008 - Present · 18 yrs 6 mos

  • Visiting Research Scholar Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University
    Feb 2020 - Jul 2020 · 6 mos

  • Northern Illinois University (DeKalb County, Illinois, United States)
    • Associate Professor in Comparative Politics (tenured 2013)
      Aug 2013 - Aug 2014 · 1 yr 1 mo

    • Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics
      Aug 2010 - Aug 2013 · 3 yrs 1 mo

  • Postdoctoral Researcher at Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University
    Aug 2008 - Aug 2010 · 2 yrs 1 mo