Iain Cowie

Iain Cowie
Tel: 02-613-2304
Email: [email protected]

Research interests:

Ajarn Iain research topics are highly multi-disciplinary, but all are centred around the theme of paradox: in the area of Conflict Resolution, the need for conflict as a way to spur on peace efforts; in the area of civil society, the need for fake news for democracy to flourish; in the area of Tourism Studies, the need for staged authenticity in response to market forces; in the area of Diplomacy Studies, in the need for sophistry and pageantry even in the diplomacy of today.

These disciplines are linked through psychoanalysis, German Idealism, ANT and New Rhetoric Theory. The theme of excess is also significant: excess in identity, risk, the fetish function, potlatch in anthropology, religion, rhetoric and psychoanalytic IR.

Description:

Ajarn Iain lived in Japan for 7 years before returning to the UK to work as a lawyer at a large law firm.He has worked as a reporter at The Washington Post, in their Tokyo bureau, and a defence analyst at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, specialising in Far East Asia.

He has travelled to several conflict zones, such as Algeria, Kosovo, and the West Bank.

Academic background:

Ajarn Iain was awarded a Monbusho Fellowship for study in Japan. He won the Ibrahim Award for litigation at Law College.
He has studied Law and International Relations at Birmingham University (England), Tsukuba University (Japan) and Thammasat.

Selected conference papers and publications:

Conflice Resolution:

Cowie, I.F. (2023) Western Diplomacy’s Ineffective Iconoclasm: Conflict Resolution with China and the West’s Forgotten Rhetorical Tools
Cowie, I.F. (2016) A Peace that Requires War: Tin Ears in the Deep South
Cowie, I. F. (2013, April) The Art of Strategic Agency [pamphlet book]
Cowie, I. (2011, June) The Crystallisation of McCrystal’s Leaked and Leaky Policy Paper

Democracy:

Cowie, I.F. (2022) Ch. 1: Captured in Narratives: Resentments, Brittle Beliefs and a Fanciful Democracy
Cowie, I.F. (2019) The Master or the University: the Drivers of Fake News in the West and East

Tourism:

Cowie, I.F. (2019) The Great Dragon lost in Siam
Cowie, I.F. (2014) Fairly Amazing Thailand: The Danger of Risk Reduction
Cowie, I.F. (2013, May) Tourist Thailand and the Staged Postmodern Man: Reversing Authentic Absurdity
Cowie, I. F. (2013) Westerners’ new Authentic Desires and The Challenges for Thailand