Rate My Professor Andrea Haefner

Dr. Andrea Haefner serves as the Southeast Asia Hub Lead and a Senior Lecturer at the Griffith Asia Institute within Griffith Business School at Griffith University. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), she possesses over 20 years of experience working with governments, non-governmental organizations, and universities across Southeast Asia, including several years based in Laos. Haefner earned her PhD in International Relations and Politics from Griffith University in 2015, with her doctoral thesis exploring conflict and cooperation in transboundary river basins in Latin America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. She previously obtained a Master's Degree in International Relations and Asian Studies from Griffith University.

Haefner's research specializations encompass water governance and hydropolitics in the Mekong region, the role and impact of civil society organizations, transboundary river basin management, geopolitics, non-traditional security, political dynasties, and socioeconomic transformations in Southeast Asia. Her major publication is the book Negotiating for Water Resources: Bridging Transboundary River Basins (Routledge, 2016), which analyzes drivers of conflict and cooperation based on fieldwork. Key peer-reviewed articles include "Water governance in the Mekong region: the role and impact of civil society organizations" in Water International (2024) and "Legitimacy and Hydropolitics in the Mekong Region: Lao PDR and Cambodia" (2025). She has contributed book chapters such as "Civil Society and Environmental Activism in the Mekong Subregion: Shrinking Space" in the Routledge Handbook of Human Rights in Southeast Asia (2025), and policy briefs for Griffith Asia Insights, including "Geopolitics, non-traditional security and political dynasties in Southeast Asia" (2025) and "Emerging political, economic and social transformations in Southeast Asia" (2026). Haefner leads the Griffith Asia Business Internship (GABI) program, which provides students with Asia-focused work-integrated learning experiences. She has received research funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and participates in public discourse through contributions to the East Asia Forum and Lowy Institute.