Friday Lecture Series | Citizens or Subjects? : The Paradox of Citizenship and Subjecthood in a Southeast Asian Kingdom

This is virtual event. Zoom registration is required: http://myumi.ch/A1bGx

Brunei is the last absolutist kingdom in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. Often, Bruneians are portrayed as passive, docile subjects of the Sultan, but the reality is far more nuanced. This lecture reveals a surprising paradox: Bruneians are both citizens and subjects at the same time. I argue that this hybrid status, which I term 'civic subjecthood,' compels Bruneians to constantly negotiate their political lives, balancing their status as subjects with subtle acts of citizenship, often in the form of ‘quiet activism.’ Tracing the historical development of this dual identity from the twentieth century to the present day, this lecture explores how a composite system of (neo)traditional and modern governance was invented by the British during indirect rule and later inherited by the Sultan upon independence. Ultimately, understanding this process not only provides insight into how people perform political life in Brunei's unique system but also offers a new lens for examining how individuals operate under other authoritarian monarchies in the modern world.

Mu'izz Abdul Khalid is a Research Associate at the Global Awareness and Impact Alliance (GAIA), specializing in authoritarian monarchies and Southeast Asian studies. He brings extensive experience, having served as a 2024-25 Fung Global Fellow at Princeton University and an adjunct lecturer at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). He received his graduate training from the National University of Singapore and University College London.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at valdezjo@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.