Associate Professor
Pichamon YeophantongProfile page
Associate Professor, Strategic Studies
Faculty of Arts and Education/Centre for Future Defence and National Security
- Associate Professor, Strategic StudiesFaculty of Arts and Education/Centre for Future Defence and National Security
- Canberra - Centre for Defence
BIO
Head of Research, Centre for Future Defence and National Security
Dr Pichamon Yeophantong is Head of Research and Associate Professor at the
Centre for Future Defence and National Security, Deakin University. She also leads the
Responsible Business Lab and the Environmental Justice and Human Rights Project,
which are funded by an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship. In 2022,
Pichamon was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council as an
Independent Expert, serving as the Member from Asia-Pacific States on the
UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
As a political scientist and China specialist, Pichamon conducts research into
Chinese foreign policy and, specifically, the social and environmental impacts
of Chinese overseas investment in the developing world. She also teaches and
conducts field-based research on business and human rights, and more broadly,
on the political economy of sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific.
Pichamon has previously held academic positions at the University of New South
Wales (UNSW Sydney and Canberra), Princeton University, and the University of
Oxford, among other institutions.
In addition to these roles, Pichamon has served as a consultant on human
rights, development, and security issues to a range of local and international
NGOs, intergovernmental organisations, and government agencies. She sits on
the Board and Research Committee of Jubilee Australia Research Centre; the
Advisory Committee of the Australian Water Partnership; and the Executive
Committee of the Women In International Security Australia. She is also a
Senior Research Fellow (non-resident) at the Wong MNC Center.
Pichamon has delivered over 400 keynotes, invited talks, and public lectures
on human rights, environmental governance, and Indo-Pacific politics since
2010, including at a UN Human Rights Council Session, an ASEAN Regional Forum
Workshop, and the Australian Institute of International Affairs' National
Conference. Pichamon is working with civil society and other local
partners on a series of funded initiatives that seek to support the resilience
of women leaders and environmental human rights defenders in the Asia-Pacific.
In recognition of the social impact of her work, Pichamon was awarded the 2018
Australia 'Future Leader' Prize by the Council for the Humanities, Arts and
Social Sciences, and was named a 'human rights fighter' by the 2020 Advance
Awards.
Pichamon completed her PhD and MA at the Australian National University as an
inaugural China Institute Scholar and Hedley Bull Scholar, and her BA at
Thammasat University as a King Bhumipol Scholar. In addition to native fluency
in Thai, she holds advanced language certificates in French, Japanese, Lao,
Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish, among a few others.
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY CURRENT APPOINTMENT
- Associate Professor, Strategic StudiesDeakin University, Centre for Future Defence and National Security
DEGREES
- Doctor of PhilosophyAustralian National University
- Master of ArtsAustralian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Bachelor of ArtsThammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
LANGUAGES
- ThaiCan read, write and speak
- FrenchCan read, write and speak
- Chinese (Mandarin)Can read, write and speak
- JapaneseCan read, write and speak
- Spanish - Latin AmericanCan read, write and speak
- LaoCan read and speak
- GermanCan read
- SanskritCan read
FIELDS OF RESEARCH (2020)
- Political science
- Development studies
AVAILABILITY FOR SUPERVISION
- Masters by Research and PhD supervision
AREA/FACULTY
- Faculty of Arts and Education
DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL/INSTITUTE
- Centre for Future Defence and National Security