Robert Cribb's research interests focus mainly on Indonesia, though he has some interest in other parts of Southeast Asia (especially Malaysia and Burma/Myanmar) and in Inner Asia. The themes of his research are: mass violence and crime; national identity; environmental politics; and historical geography. Current research projects include: the origins of massacre in Indonesia; historical atlas of Northeast Asia (with Li Narangoa); 'Wild Man from Borneo: a cultural history of the orangutan' (with Helen Gilbert and Helen Tiffin); and 'Puppet states revisited: Empire and Sovereign Subordination in Modern Asia' (with Li Narangoa).

Robert Cribb grew up in Brisbane, Australia, and spent much time as a child wandering the bush and the Barrier Reef with his botanist parents. After completing his undergraduate studies in Asian History at the University of Queensland, he took his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with a thesis on Jakarta during the Indonesian revolution, 1945-1949. After graduating, he taught at Griffith University and the University of Queensland (both in Brisbane) and as guest lecturer at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands. He held research positions at the Australian National University, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, where he was also director for two years. He re-joined the Australian National University at the beginning of 2003.

Career highlights

Fellow in Residence, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, Wassenaar (1988-89); Director, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copenhagen (1997-1999).

The origins of massacre in Indonesia. Examines the deep and shallow roots of the 1945 and 1965 massacres in Indonesia.

Wild Man from Borneo (with Helen Gilbert and Helen Tiffin). Examines the history of human contact with and representation of the orangutan from the 17th century to the present, including changing scientific understandings, novels, films, zoos, museums and plays.

Historical Atlas of Northeast Asia, 1600-2010 (with Li Narangoa). Maps changing borders and state identities in Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia and Eastern Siberia from the rise of the Manchu empire.

Puppet states revisited (with Li Narangoa). Examines the concept of puppet states as it has been used in international studies and suggests ways it can be stripped of its judgemental aspects and used as an analytical term.

The repatriation and release of Japanese war criminals, 1946-1958 (with Beatrice Trefalt and Sandra Wilson). Examines the international politics surrounding the transfer of Japanese war criminals from Southeast Asia to Japan, and the subsequent negotiations over their release.