The ANU International Relations Society’s President, Jessica Honan, speaks to Australian National University's Dr Ruji Auethavornpipat, a Lecturer in International Relations at the ANU and researcher in migrant worker rights norms in Southeast Asia, migration governance and human trafficking. 

In 2019, Ruji won the Excellence in Tutoring Award. His teaching covers both postgraduate and undergraduate courses such as World Politics and Introduction to International Relations. At the height of migrant trafficking politicisation in Southeast Asia, Ruji took up the Asia Studies Fellowship at the East-West Center in Washington, DC, in 2017 where he conducted research on ASEAN-US cooperation on human trafficking. This research was also supported by the Association of Southeast Asian Studies in the UK’s (ASEASUK) Research and Impact Award. Ruji previously held visiting fellowships at the Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences, Germany; the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore; and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia.

In this episode, we discuss Human Trafficking and forced labour in Southeast Asia. Ruji answers questions about the diference between forced labour and slavery, the political phenomenon that is Human Trafficking, and the impact COVID-19 is having on slavery in the Southeast Asia region. 

We hope you enjoy the discussion!