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Articles by Laura Southgate

October 19, 2026

Democracy alone does not protect people when disasters strike

Laura Southgate
Laura Southgate finds that democracy alone does not consistently reduce disaster impacts across Southeast Asia. A clearer pattern concerns administrative capacity and whether governments can turn political decisions into coordinated action when hazards place institutions under pressure
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photograph of Laura Southgate
Laura Southgate
Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Aston University

Laura's research focuses on international security, Southeast Asian politics, the Indo-Pacific region, disaster governance and resilience.

Her research has also been published in Asian Security, The RUSI Journal, Asia Policy, Political Science, International Politics, Intelligence and National Security, and the Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs.

She currently leads the ESRC-funded Disaster Governance and Resilience Evidence Hub (DG-HUB).

@lsouthgate.bsky.social

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ORCiD

ASEAN Resistance to Sovereignty Violation: Interests, Balancing and the Role of the Vanguard State
Bristol University Press, 2019

External Powers and Southeast Asia in an Era of US-China Strategic Competition
Co-editor, with Nicholas Koo
Bristol University Press, 2026

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