Dr. Manuel Litalien

Manuel Litalien has a PhD in Political Science from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He is the author of La philanthropie religieuse en tant que nouveau capital démocratique: développement social et régime providentiel en Thaïlande (Presses de l’Université Laval) and has published book chapters with UBC Press, McGill-Queen's University Press, and Routledge. He is an adjunct professor at Mahidol University in Thailand and has collaborated with faculty at Thammasat University, also in Thailand.
Dr. Litalien’s broad research areas are social development, welfare systems, philanthropy, ethnicity, minority groups, and religion, with a focus on Southeast Asia. As a researcher, he has conducted fieldwork in Canada and Southeast Asia. He is interested in looking at how institutions in developing and developed nations are creating political venues for marginalized groups. His works have documented community social welfare projects, as well as the impacts of government development initiatives on the behaviour of non-governmental organizations. He is particularly interested in examining the role of religion in public life, in global development, and in diasporas, connecting these to religious movements and national identity. He occasionally provides analyses of Southeast Asia to the media and government agencies.
For further information on Dr. Litalien, see his curriculum vitae.