Hello there! I am Desmond Ng, a first-year PhD Politics student from Lancaster University. I began my PhD following the conclusion of my undergraduate education in History and Politics, and master’s in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy – both of which were also at Lancaster University.

​

Since the very first years of my undergraduate studies, I have been interested in how historical memory has been a key political battleground. In particular, I am intrigued by the tendency amongst various right-wing actors (be they in Western and non-Western contexts) to misinterpret and misuse history for their own chauvinist brand of politics.

​

I primarily specialise in postcolonial politics, especially those pertaining to postcolonial right-wing politics in Southeast Asia. Within this region, there is a very conspicuous appropriation of decolonial rhetoric and the historical memories of anticolonial movements to legitimise exclusionary, conservative, and authoritarian rule; and this has been a major focus of my various research projects. For my PhD, I intend to expand upon my pre-existing master’s research on Malaysian antisemitic conspiracy theories. By adopting a much more encompassing set of analytical lenses, I will investigate how right-wing civil society organisations, specifically, Malay Supremacist and Islamist non-state organisations and activists, promote and normalise sectarian rhetoric and policies in contemporary Malaysia. I intend to achieve this by analysing their means at propagating these ideas in today’s Malaysian politics, through mediums like podcasts, social media, research reports, and interviews.

 

I welcome all submissions related to my areas of interests and expertise!