Social Media and Elections in Southeast Asia - Dr Aim Sinpeng

In the lead-up to SSEAC's annual ASEAN Forum, Dr Aim Sinpeng (University of Sydney) sat down with Mr Kean Wong to discuss her research on online political engagement in Southeast Asian elections, and the role of social media in shaping voting behaviour. Dr Aim Sinpeng's research interests centre on the relationships between digital media, political participation and political regimes in Southeast Asia. She is particularly interested in the role of social media in shaping state-society relations and inducing political and social change. Together with Dr Fiona Martin, Aim was recently awarded funding by Facebook to help the social media giant understand how better to regulate hate speech online in the Asia-Pacific region. Aim is the co-founder of the Sydney Cyber Security Network and has served as the Expert Contributor for Varieties of Democracy and the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index, which measure degrees and types of democracy. Her other scholarly works examine popular movements against democracy in democratising states, particularly in Thailand. Prior to her academic career she worked for the World Bank, a Toronto-based investment bank, governments of Thailand and the Czech Republic and the New York State Democrat Party. Aim is also a regular commentator on Southeast Asian politics for the ABC, SBS, CBC, Channel News Asia, Al Jazeera, CNBC and Sky News. You can also follow Dr Aim Sinpeng on Twitter @aimsinpeng