Karin Dean

Karin Dean is a political geographer at Tallinn University since 2007, with a focus on Southeast Asian societies and politics. Her research integrates ethnographic fieldwork across Myanmar, China, Thailand, and Northeast India, examining interrelations between states, societies, and spaces.

• Interests: political geography, mobilities, Southeast Asia, Burma/Myanmar, Kachin, Asian urbanization, political anthropology
• Projects: Advancing Trans-Regional Border Studies

Her work analyzes borders as dynamic social constructs, exploring how ethnic minorities navigate state power through mobility and spatial contestation. Recent publications examine China's Belt and Road Initiative in Myanmar and the spatial dimensions of ceasefire politics.

As a supervisor, she guides BA, MA, and PhD students in Southeast Asian studies, political geography, and Asian urban research. Her fieldwork-based approach bridges critical geopolitics with lived experiences in contested borderlands.