David Saunders is an Associate at The Asia Group’s Southeast Asia Practice, where he supports clients across a range of sectors, including telecommunications, aviation, tech, and energy and sustainability. At TAG, David coordinates weekly client deliverables – including a pan-Southeast Asia analytic newsletter and an Indo-Pacific energy transition tracker – and briefs clients on key issues relating to the Philippines and Malaysia.
David is an experienced researcher and writer who has published widely on geopolitical, historical, and environmental issues relating to maritime Southeast Asia. His research has focused on issues ranging from state formation and territorial disputes to postcolonial resource acquisition and environmental policies in Southeast Asia. His book, Chasing Archipelagic Dreams: The Expansion of Foreign Influence in Sabah amid the End of Empire, 1945–1965, was published by Cornell University Press’ Southeast Asia Program in December 2024. Chasing Archipelagic Dreams has been cited as “An important contribution to the field” and “A highly original piece of work that brings local perspectives to bear” on the history of Malaysia.
David previously worked at The University of Hong Kong as a lecturer, where he designed and taught classes on Southeast Asian studies and decolonization, and led tutorial classes on the history of energy. David earned his PhD at The University of Hong Kong and served as a visiting researcher at King’s College London. During his PhD, David presented papers at major international conferences, including the Association of Asian Studies’ annual conference, and earned competitive grants to support archival research across the United States, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.
David received his MLitt in modern history at The University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he speaks Cantonese conversationally. Outside of work, David is a keen photographer, documenting Hong Kong’s urban and architectural heritage.