Rate My Professor Helen Nesadurai

Helen Nesadurai is Professor of International Political Economy in the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University Malaysia. She earned a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and an MSc in Biochemistry from Universiti Malaya in 1982 and 1985, respectively, followed by an MSc in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford in 1993 and a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick in 2002. Additionally, she holds a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from Monash University, awarded in 2011. Her career began as a researcher and senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur from 1984 to 1998, followed by an appointment as Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore from 2002 to 2005. She joined Monash University Malaysia in 2006 as Senior Lecturer, advancing to Associate Professor in 2011 and full Professor in 2016. She has held key leadership roles, including Deputy Head of School (Education) from 2011 to 2013, Deputy Head (Research) from 2016 to 2017, Head of School from 2018 to 2020, and currently serves as Director of Global Engagement from 2023 to 2025.

Professor Nesadurai's research specializes in international political economy and international relations, with a focus on regional and transnational governance in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific. Her interests encompass the international political economy of regional integration and governance, state-based institutions, non-state transnational governance, and the intersection of global governance with regional and national frameworks impacting development, rights, and sustainability. Current projects examine zero-deforestation norms in global and regional governance. She has authored the book Globalisation, Domestic Politics and Regionalism: The ASEAN Free Trade Area (Routledge, 2003) and edited volumes including Globalisation and Economic Security in East Asia (Routledge, 2006) and Southeast Asia in the Global Economy (ISEAS, 2009). Key journal articles include 'New Constellations of Social Power: States and Transnational Private Governance of Palm Oil Sustainability in Southeast Asia' (Journal of Contemporary Asia, 2018), 'ASEAN Environmental Cooperation, Transnational Private Governance and the Haze' (TRaNS, 2017), and recent works such as 'Economic statecraft, geoeconomics and regional political economies' (Pacific Review, 2023) and 'Malaysia's ambivalent middle power status' (Global Policy, 2025). Her awards include two Chevening Scholarships (1993, 2000), Monash University Malaysia Pro-Vice Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Research (2009, 2012), and visiting fellowships at the Australian National University (2010, 2017) and University of Warwick (2017). She serves as Chief Editor of Contemporary Politics and on editorial boards for Review of International Political Economy, The Pacific Review, and others. Professor Nesadurai supervises graduate research students and contributes to international advisory boards and research workshops.