War Memorialization and Nation-Building in Twentieth-Century Southeast Asia
Published by Routledge, 2025. DOI: 10.4324/9781003542186
How do nations remember their wars, and whose memories prevail? This book examines the politics of war memorialization across Southeast Asia, tracing how monuments, shrines, and commemorative landscapes have shaped national narratives in the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore in the twentieth century. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and archival research, the study reveals how states choreograph public memory through memorial sites, and how these efforts intersect with broader processes of nation-building, reconciliation, and political legitimacy.
The book argues that war memorials function as contested political instruments, reflecting not the totality of wartime experience but the selective priorities of those who commission and maintain them. By comparing memorial practices across national contexts, it uncovers the shared logics and divergent trajectories through which Southeast Asian societies have reckoned with violent pasts.
Book Talks
War Memorialization and Nation-Building in Twentieth-Century Southeast Asia. 80 Years: The End of World War II Graduate Seminar Series. Chulalongkorn University, 17 November 2025.
War Memorialization in Southeast Asia: Contested Memories, National Narratives. National University of Singapore Asia Research Institute, 23 September 2025.
War Memorialization and Nation-Building in Twentieth-Century Southeast Asia. GAS Book Talk. Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo, 2 June 2025.
War Memorialization and Nation-Building in Twentieth-Century Southeast Asia. University of the Philippines Baguio, 22 May 2025.
Book Launch: War Memorialization and Nation-Building in Twentieth-Century Southeast Asia. Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman, 20 March 2025.
Forthcoming Books
Marcos, Martial Law, and the Complexities of Memory in the Philippines. Co-edited with K.C. Alvarez and J.E. Pring. Routledge, 2026.
Frameworks and Practices Towards a Sustainable and Peaceful Future. Co-edited with A. Sharifi, D.C. Simangan, and S. Kaneko. Springer, 2026.
JOHN LEE CANDELARIA 