Mira Crouch
Biographic Data
| ID | 198038 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mira Crouch |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mira |
| FAMILY NAME | Crouch |
| SIGNATURE | CROUCH M |
| AFFILIATIONS | UNSW Sydney |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9821-1209 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 372 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
The Case for Comparative Law and Society in Legal Education: Asian Legal Studies in Australian Law Schools
How and why is comparative law and society imperative to legal education? In the 21 st century, legal education displays a paradox: despite the rise of Asia economically, socially and politically, the study of comparative law rarely includes Asian laws outside of law schools in Asia. In this article, I contribute to the debate over legal education by arguing for the imperative of comparative law and society, and its benefits for law students. I e…
Constitutional Coup-Proofing
The persistence of military coups in the Global South raises new questions in terms of how constitution-makers use constitutions to prevent, deter or resist a coup and to what effect. In this article, we examine how constitution-makers respond to the threat of future military coups. Building on and extending the literature on coup-proofing, we argue that coup-proofing is not only a political strategy but can also be a legal one. We define constit…
The Military Turn in Comparative Constitutional Law: Constitutions and the Military in Authoritarian Regimes
Studies of constitutions in authoritarian regimes reveal a new finding hiding in plain sight: that the military is often a key constitutional actor. The question of how the military uses law and constitutions to enable and facilitate its influence in constitution making and constitutional practice is under-researched. The military demands scholarly attention because of the unprecedented opportunities for the military in governance due to the rise…
The Rise and Decline of Constitutionalism in the Global South: The Case of Indonesia's Constitutional Court
Studies of constitutionalism in the Global South often chart the rise and achievements of liberal constitutionalism. In this contribution, I suggest that we also need to consider the decline of constitutional democracy as part of studies of constitutionalism in the Global South. Since the book Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia was published, the decline of constitutional democracy in Indonesia has worsened. In this contribution I question the…
Interview: Is Asian Studies and ‘Asia literacy’ in crisis in Australia and what is its future
Judicial Loyalty to the Military in Authoritarian Regimes: How the Courts Are Militarized in Myanmar
While scholars have considered the role of courts in authoritarian regimes generally, less attention has been paid to judicial-military relations. In this article I consider how courts are militarized and made subordinate and loyal to military rule. In military regimes, the courts are at risk of militarization and the process of rendering judges loyal to the military through practices such as career path socialization, selection, and restructurin…
States of Legal Denial: How the State in Myanmar Uses Law to Exclude the Rohingya
States often use forms of denial to suppress the pain and suffering of minority groups. In 2015, the international community celebrated the electoral success of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar. Yet through legislative reform, the Rohingya were disenfranchised prior to the election. This is an example of legal denial, that is, the use of law and legal institutions to enact denial. The article traces three uses of legal denial against …
Pre-emptive Constitution-Making: Authoritarian Constitutionalism and the Military in Myanmar
Constitutions are an important feature of many authoritarian regimes. But what role do they in fact perform in processes of authoritarian regime stabilization and legitimation? Much of the contemporary literature focuses on authoritarian constitutionalism in transitions away from constitutional democracy. This article considers the opposite scenario: pre-emptive constitution-making as a mechanism of authoritarian constitutionalism to contain a po…
The Business of Transition: Law Reform, Development and Economics in Myanmar
The Constitution of Myanmar: A Contextual Analysis
This timely and accessible book is the first to provide a thorough analysis of the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar (Burma) in its historical, political and social context. The book identifies and articulates the principles of the Constitution through an in-depth analysis of legal and political processes and practices, particularly since the 1990s. The core argument of this book is that the 2008 Constitution is crucial to the establishment and mainte…
Remembering Maria, 1978-2017
Judiciary
This chapter focuses on the role and function of the Supreme Court, and the courts below it in contemporary Myanmar. It shows how the composition of the Supreme Court points to the influence of the executive over the courts. The chapter also focuses on the authority of the Supreme Court in terms of its original and appellate jurisdiction, and its reporting, law-making and supervisory functions. It describes that the new authority of the Supreme C…
The Expansion of Emergency Powers: Social Conflict and the Military in Indonesia
The exercise of emergency powers is always controversial. This article identifies the expansion of the type and scope of emergency powers through legislative reform. It does so by examining the Indonesian Law on Social Conflict 2012, which allows a state of social conflict to be declared at the national, regional or local level in response to social conflict, such as conflict between religious or ethnic communities. The deliberate choice of the t…
Personal Law and Colonial Legacy
Promiscuity, Polygyny, and the Power of Revenge: The Past and Future of Burmese Buddhist Law in Myanmar
Myanmar is the only Buddhism-majority country in the world that has developed and maintained a system of family law for Buddhists enforced by the courts. This article considers the construction of Burmese Buddhist law by lawyers, judges, and legislators, and the changes made through legislative intervention in 2015. It begins by addressing the creation and contestation of Burmese Buddhist law to demonstrate that it has largely been defined by men…
Shi’ism in Southeast Asia: ‘Alid Piety and Sectarian Constructions . Edited by Chiara Formichi and R. Michael Feener
In 2013, a major case was brought to the Indonesian Constitutional Court challenging the Blasphemy Law, which has often been used over the past decade to imprison people who are found to offend the orthodox teachings of Sunni Islam. This court case was brought by several Shi’ites, some of whom had been convicted for blaspheming Sunni Islamic teachings. The court case came in the wake of a recent rise in religious intolerance, condemnation, crimin…
Opposing the Rule of Law: How Myanmar's Courts Make Law and Order
Introduction 1. How law and order opposes the rule of law 2. Ordering law in the colony 3. Reordering law in the postcolony 4. Subsuming law to order 5. Embodying the law and order ideal 6. Performing order, making money 7. Through disorder, law and order 8. Speaking up for the rule of law 9. Against quietude Glossary Bibliography Index
Constructing Religion by Law in Myanmar
Since 2011 the transition to a quasi-civilian government, a slate of legal reforms have seemed urgent, none more surprising and prominent than legislative reform on religion. Yet these laws come in
Shifting conceptions of state regulation of religion: The Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony
This article seeks to understand how and why states regulate the activities or affairs of religious communities. It does so through a case study of the Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony. The article draws out three general considerations to the study of the dynamics of state regulation of religious affairs: situating modern state approaches to the regulation of religion in historical context; recognizing the framework within which s…
Asia-Pacific: Criminal (in)Justice in Indonesia: The Cikeusik Trials
Asia-Pacific: Ahmadiyah in Indonesia: A History of Religious Tolerance under Threat
Law and Religion in Indonesia: The Constitutional Court and the Blasphemy Law
A growing number of religious minorities have been prosecuted for the criminal offence of ‘insulting a religion’, specifically Islam, in Indonesia. Both local and international human rights organisations have condemned the perceived misuse of what is widely referred to in Indonesia as the ‘Blasphemy Law’. This article will analyse the application for judicial review of the Blasphemy Law, which was submitted to the Indonesian Constitutional Court …
Implementing the Regulation on Places of Worship in Indonesia: New Problems, Local Politics and Court Action
This article examines the local implementation of the national Joint Regulation 2006 on places of worship in Indonesia. It focuses on the case study of the Protestant Christian Batak Congregation, which became one of the first churches to successfully challenge the authority of a local leader to cancel its permit to build a church. I begin by exploring the history of the regulation of permits for places of worship in Indonesia and the various pro…
Respect: Where and How
For Maria Markus, a significant feature of 'decency' of a society is respect for the dignity of each person. Here I contemplate the notion of 'respect' in the light of Sennett's (2004) inquiry into the role of respect in encounters between individuals and institutions. Underlying this question is the structure/ agency dynamic. As Markus points out, decent institutions do not necessarily presuppose decent individuals (and vice versa). Yet the sepa…
The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative research
In a qualitative framework, research based on interviews often seeks to penetrate social life beyond appearance and manifest meanings. This requires the researcher to be immersed in the research field, to establish continuing, fruitful relationships with respondents and through theoretical contemplation to address the research problem in depth. Therefore a small number of cases (less than 20, say) will facilitate the researcher's close associatio…
The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative research
In a qualitative framework, research based on interviews often seeks to penetrate social life beyond appearance and manifest meanings. This requires the researcher to be immersed in the research field, to establish continuing, fruitful relationships with respondents and through theoretical contemplation to address the research problem in depth. Therefore a small number of cases (less than 20, say) will facilitate the researcher's close associatio…
Law and Religion in Indonesia: The Constitutional Court and the Blasphemy Law
A growing number of religious minorities have been prosecuted for the criminal offence of ‘insulting a religion’, specifically Islam, in Indonesia. Both local and international human rights organisations have condemned the perceived misuse of what is widely referred to in Indonesia as the ‘Blasphemy Law’. This article will analyse the application for judicial review of the Blasphemy Law, which was submitted to the Indonesian Constitutional Court …
Discordant Feelings in the Lifeworld of Cancer Survivors
This article concerns persons who live in uncertainty following an earlier diagnosis of (and completed treatment for) cancer. Fear of recurrence of the disease underlies the uncertainty and the attendant perception of being profoundly endangered, more 'at risk' than anyone else. Such a reflective assessment engenders a sense of separation from the everyday 'practical consciousness' that seems effortlessly to be shared by 'ordinary' others. The mi…
States of Legal Denial: How the State in Myanmar Uses Law to Exclude the Rohingya
States often use forms of denial to suppress the pain and suffering of minority groups. In 2015, the international community celebrated the electoral success of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar. Yet through legislative reform, the Rohingya were disenfranchised prior to the election. This is an example of legal denial, that is, the use of law and legal institutions to enact denial. The article traces three uses of legal denial against …
Constructing Religion by Law in Myanmar
Since 2011 the transition to a quasi-civilian government, a slate of legal reforms have seemed urgent, none more surprising and prominent than legislative reform on religion. Yet these laws come in
The Constitution of Myanmar: A Contextual Analysis
This timely and accessible book is the first to provide a thorough analysis of the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar (Burma) in its historical, political and social context. The book identifies and articulates the principles of the Constitution through an in-depth analysis of legal and political processes and practices, particularly since the 1990s. The core argument of this book is that the 2008 Constitution is crucial to the establishment and mainte…
Social Realities of Loss and Suffering Following Mastectomy
This article draws on personal accounts of women's thoughts and feelings following mastectomy. The analysis of the material obtained in multiple, focused interviews has revealed two major themes in these accounts: on the one hand, the loss of bodily symmetry (one of the basic cultural criteria of physical beauty) was deeply felt; and on the other, peace of mind (a characteristic of psychological beauty) was permanently disturbed by the fear of th…
The social life of bonding theory
Implementing the Regulation on Places of Worship in Indonesia: New Problems, Local Politics and Court Action
This article examines the local implementation of the national Joint Regulation 2006 on places of worship in Indonesia. It focuses on the case study of the Protestant Christian Batak Congregation, which became one of the first churches to successfully challenge the authority of a local leader to cancel its permit to build a church. I begin by exploring the history of the regulation of permits for places of worship in Indonesia and the various pro…
Pre-emptive Constitution-Making: Authoritarian Constitutionalism and the Military in Myanmar
Constitutions are an important feature of many authoritarian regimes. But what role do they in fact perform in processes of authoritarian regime stabilization and legitimation? Much of the contemporary literature focuses on authoritarian constitutionalism in transitions away from constitutional democracy. This article considers the opposite scenario: pre-emptive constitution-making as a mechanism of authoritarian constitutionalism to contain a po…
Asia-Pacific: Ahmadiyah in Indonesia: A History of Religious Tolerance under Threat
Sustaining identities? Prolegomena for inquiry into contemporary foodways
As an essential yet also mundane everyday activity, eating in all cultures is expressive of both belief-systems and social distinctions that exist within them. While this has been recognized in social science - and, particularly, anthropology - many questions concerning the meanings of foodways within the overall patterns of "post-modern" culture have yet to be tackled. We argue that a novel signification of food consumption is currently taking p…
The Expansion of Emergency Powers: Social Conflict and the Military in Indonesia
The exercise of emergency powers is always controversial. This article identifies the expansion of the type and scope of emergency powers through legislative reform. It does so by examining the Indonesian Law on Social Conflict 2012, which allows a state of social conflict to be declared at the national, regional or local level in response to social conflict, such as conflict between religious or ethnic communities. The deliberate choice of the t…
The Military Turn in Comparative Constitutional Law: Constitutions and the Military in Authoritarian Regimes
Studies of constitutions in authoritarian regimes reveal a new finding hiding in plain sight: that the military is often a key constitutional actor. The question of how the military uses law and constitutions to enable and facilitate its influence in constitution making and constitutional practice is under-researched. The military demands scholarly attention because of the unprecedented opportunities for the military in governance due to the rise…
Judicial Loyalty to the Military in Authoritarian Regimes: How the Courts Are Militarized in Myanmar
While scholars have considered the role of courts in authoritarian regimes generally, less attention has been paid to judicial-military relations. In this article I consider how courts are militarized and made subordinate and loyal to military rule. In military regimes, the courts are at risk of militarization and the process of rendering judges loyal to the military through practices such as career path socialization, selection, and restructurin…
Opposing the Rule of Law: How Myanmar's Courts Make Law and Order
Introduction 1. How law and order opposes the rule of law 2. Ordering law in the colony 3. Reordering law in the postcolony 4. Subsuming law to order 5. Embodying the law and order ideal 6. Performing order, making money 7. Through disorder, law and order 8. Speaking up for the rule of law 9. Against quietude Glossary Bibliography Index
Shifting conceptions of state regulation of religion: The Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony
This article seeks to understand how and why states regulate the activities or affairs of religious communities. It does so through a case study of the Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony. The article draws out three general considerations to the study of the dynamics of state regulation of religious affairs: situating modern state approaches to the regulation of religion in historical context; recognizing the framework within which s…
The evolutionary context of postnatal depression
The social life of bonding theory
A Social Perspective for Menarche
Menarche is the most discrete and significant event of female puberty and can thus be expected to have implications for the social activities that surround it. Yet in our society there are no cultural practices regarding menarche. More remarkably, comparatively little academic interest exists in the role that menarche may play in girls' changing self-perceptions during adolescence, as well as in their understanding of their social world in which …
The evolutionary context of postnatal depression
Social Realities of Loss and Suffering Following Mastectomy
This article draws on personal accounts of women's thoughts and feelings following mastectomy. The analysis of the material obtained in multiple, focused interviews has revealed two major themes in these accounts: on the one hand, the loss of bodily symmetry (one of the basic cultural criteria of physical beauty) was deeply felt; and on the other, peace of mind (a characteristic of psychological beauty) was permanently disturbed by the fear of th…
Sustaining identities? Prolegomena for inquiry into contemporary foodways
As an essential yet also mundane everyday activity, eating in all cultures is expressive of both belief-systems and social distinctions that exist within them. While this has been recognized in social science - and, particularly, anthropology - many questions concerning the meanings of foodways within the overall patterns of "post-modern" culture have yet to be tackled. We argue that a novel signification of food consumption is currently taking p…
Bonding, postpartum dysphoria, and social ties: A speculative inquiry
Discordant Feelings in the Lifeworld of Cancer Survivors
This article concerns persons who live in uncertainty following an earlier diagnosis of (and completed treatment for) cancer. Fear of recurrence of the disease underlies the uncertainty and the attendant perception of being profoundly endangered, more 'at risk' than anyone else. Such a reflective assessment engenders a sense of separation from the everyday 'practical consciousness' that seems effortlessly to be shared by 'ordinary' others. The mi…
The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative research
In a qualitative framework, research based on interviews often seeks to penetrate social life beyond appearance and manifest meanings. This requires the researcher to be immersed in the research field, to establish continuing, fruitful relationships with respondents and through theoretical contemplation to address the research problem in depth. Therefore a small number of cases (less than 20, say) will facilitate the researcher's close associatio…
Implementing the Regulation on Places of Worship in Indonesia: New Problems, Local Politics and Court Action
This article examines the local implementation of the national Joint Regulation 2006 on places of worship in Indonesia. It focuses on the case study of the Protestant Christian Batak Congregation, which became one of the first churches to successfully challenge the authority of a local leader to cancel its permit to build a church. I begin by exploring the history of the regulation of permits for places of worship in Indonesia and the various pro…
Respect: Where and How
For Maria Markus, a significant feature of 'decency' of a society is respect for the dignity of each person. Here I contemplate the notion of 'respect' in the light of Sennett's (2004) inquiry into the role of respect in encounters between individuals and institutions. Underlying this question is the structure/ agency dynamic. As Markus points out, decent institutions do not necessarily presuppose decent individuals (and vice versa). Yet the sepa…
Asia-Pacific: Ahmadiyah in Indonesia: A History of Religious Tolerance under Threat
Law and Religion in Indonesia: The Constitutional Court and the Blasphemy Law
A growing number of religious minorities have been prosecuted for the criminal offence of ‘insulting a religion’, specifically Islam, in Indonesia. Both local and international human rights organisations have condemned the perceived misuse of what is widely referred to in Indonesia as the ‘Blasphemy Law’. This article will analyse the application for judicial review of the Blasphemy Law, which was submitted to the Indonesian Constitutional Court …
Asia-Pacific: Criminal (in)Justice in Indonesia: The Cikeusik Trials
Shifting conceptions of state regulation of religion: The Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony
This article seeks to understand how and why states regulate the activities or affairs of religious communities. It does so through a case study of the Indonesian Draft Law on Inter-religious Harmony. The article draws out three general considerations to the study of the dynamics of state regulation of religious affairs: situating modern state approaches to the regulation of religion in historical context; recognizing the framework within which s…
Opposing the Rule of Law: How Myanmar's Courts Make Law and Order
Introduction 1. How law and order opposes the rule of law 2. Ordering law in the colony 3. Reordering law in the postcolony 4. Subsuming law to order 5. Embodying the law and order ideal 6. Performing order, making money 7. Through disorder, law and order 8. Speaking up for the rule of law 9. Against quietude Glossary Bibliography Index
Constructing Religion by Law in Myanmar
Since 2011 the transition to a quasi-civilian government, a slate of legal reforms have seemed urgent, none more surprising and prominent than legislative reform on religion. Yet these laws come in
Personal Law and Colonial Legacy
Promiscuity, Polygyny, and the Power of Revenge: The Past and Future of Burmese Buddhist Law in Myanmar
Myanmar is the only Buddhism-majority country in the world that has developed and maintained a system of family law for Buddhists enforced by the courts. This article considers the construction of Burmese Buddhist law by lawyers, judges, and legislators, and the changes made through legislative intervention in 2015. It begins by addressing the creation and contestation of Burmese Buddhist law to demonstrate that it has largely been defined by men…
Shi’ism in Southeast Asia: ‘Alid Piety and Sectarian Constructions . Edited by Chiara Formichi and R. Michael Feener
In 2013, a major case was brought to the Indonesian Constitutional Court challenging the Blasphemy Law, which has often been used over the past decade to imprison people who are found to offend the orthodox teachings of Sunni Islam. This court case was brought by several Shi’ites, some of whom had been convicted for blaspheming Sunni Islamic teachings. The court case came in the wake of a recent rise in religious intolerance, condemnation, crimin…
The Expansion of Emergency Powers: Social Conflict and the Military in Indonesia
The exercise of emergency powers is always controversial. This article identifies the expansion of the type and scope of emergency powers through legislative reform. It does so by examining the Indonesian Law on Social Conflict 2012, which allows a state of social conflict to be declared at the national, regional or local level in response to social conflict, such as conflict between religious or ethnic communities. The deliberate choice of the t…
Judiciary
This chapter focuses on the role and function of the Supreme Court, and the courts below it in contemporary Myanmar. It shows how the composition of the Supreme Court points to the influence of the executive over the courts. The chapter also focuses on the authority of the Supreme Court in terms of its original and appellate jurisdiction, and its reporting, law-making and supervisory functions. It describes that the new authority of the Supreme C…
The Business of Transition: Law Reform, Development and Economics in Myanmar
The Constitution of Myanmar: A Contextual Analysis
This timely and accessible book is the first to provide a thorough analysis of the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar (Burma) in its historical, political and social context. The book identifies and articulates the principles of the Constitution through an in-depth analysis of legal and political processes and practices, particularly since the 1990s. The core argument of this book is that the 2008 Constitution is crucial to the establishment and mainte…
Remembering Maria, 1978-2017
Pre-emptive Constitution-Making: Authoritarian Constitutionalism and the Military in Myanmar
Constitutions are an important feature of many authoritarian regimes. But what role do they in fact perform in processes of authoritarian regime stabilization and legitimation? Much of the contemporary literature focuses on authoritarian constitutionalism in transitions away from constitutional democracy. This article considers the opposite scenario: pre-emptive constitution-making as a mechanism of authoritarian constitutionalism to contain a po…
Political science (22 works) · Law (16 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Asian Studies and History (7 works) · Democracy (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works)