Donald E. Weatherbee

Donald E. Weatherbee has been described as the dean of the American scholars of the international Relations of Southeast Asia. His new book (2005), International Relations in Southeast Asia: The Struggle for Autonomy caps more than four decades of teaching, writing, and analyzing politics and foreign policy in the region. He was awarded the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Civilian Service medal for his work on the post-Vietnam war profile of Southeast Asia “guiding senior Army planners in the redefinition of United States national strategy.”

Prof. Weatherbee is a close Indonesia-watcher. He lived and taught in Indonesia for four years and has been a frequent visitor. His first book (1966) was a study of Indonesian political ideology in the Sukarno era. His most recent book chapters and journal articles on Indonesia include “Indonesian Foreign Policy: A Wounded Phoenix,” “Indonesian Foreign Policy: From Pivot to Problem,” and “Indonesia: Electoral Politics in a Newly Emerging Democracy.” In addition to Indonesia, he has held teaching and research appointments in universities and institutes in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Netherlands, Germany, and England. He is currently the Donald S. Russell Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina.