Dr Ahmad Umar PhD (Queensland), MSc (Sheffield), S.IP (UGM)

Dr Ahmad Rizky M. Umar is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow (UKRI Guarantee) at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University. He completed his PhD in Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland, MSc in Politics with Research Methods at the University of Sheffield, and Bachelor of Political Science (S.IP) in International Relations at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Before joining Aberystwyth University, he taught at the University of Queensland and Griffith University (2022-2024).

Umar is an expert in Asian regionalism, Indonesia's foreign policy, and Indo-Pacific security. He has published articles in several journals, including International Affairs, Alternatives, International Journal, Asian Politics and Policy, Global South Review, and Studia Islamika. His current research explores transregionalism in world politics, focusing on the politics of trans-regional cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. He is also completing a book project on the history of the idea of Asia in world politics. Dr. Umar also occassionally write op-eds for media, including The Jakarta Post, The Interpreter (Lowy Institute), Indonesia at Melbourne, The Conversation, and 9DashLine.

Originally from Indonesia, he previously worked as a researcher at ASEAN Studies Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada, where he also became Executive Secretary (2016-2017). He has taught several courses, including International Ethics, Human Rights, Nonviolence, and International Relations Theory. Dr. Umar was awarded postdoctoral writing Grant from Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) (2023), Best Paper Award for Junior Scholars from ISA English School section (2022), and Asia Study Grant from the National Library of Australia (2020). 

Umar currently engages in three research areas.

‘TransRWP: Transregionalism in World Politics’, funded by UKRI Guarantee for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, explores the politics of transregional cooperation in contemporary world politics. Focusing on the Indo-Pacific region, this project analyses two contemporary transregional cooperation: the Belt and Road Initiative and the Quad. Both projects are attached in the contemporary great-power rivalry between the United States and China. This project aims to explore the normative underpinnings and instititutional mechanisms that maintain both cooperations, which would shed more light to the evolving international order in the 21st century. 

‘Constructing Asia' is a book project derived from Umar's PhD thesis, completed at the University of Queensland (2018-2022). The book project traces the history of the idea of Asia in world politics and how various ideas of Asia are mobilised to challenge or establish a particular global order. This project, in particular, traces five ideas of Asia from the 19th century to the early 21st century, and shows how ‘Asia’ has been pivotal in the civilisational and geopolitical contestations to shape the evolving global order. 

In addition, Umar also actively comments and provides analysis on Indonesia's foreign policy and Indonesia's position in the changing international order, particularly during Joko Widodo presidency. He has published several articles on the history of Indonesia's foreign policy, Indonesia's conceptions of international order, ASEAN, and Indonesia in Indo-Pacific. Umar's comments have been cited by (among others) South China Morning Post, Arab News, The Jakarta Post, ABC Radio, The Straits Times, BBC Indonesia, and Nikkei Asia. 

• Wednesday 14.00-16.00
• Thursday 14.00-16.00