Farish A. Noor is Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies RSIS and the School of History SoH, Nanyang Technological University. He is the author of “Before the Pivot: America’s Encounters with Southeast Asia 1800-1900” (Amsterdam University Press, 2018) and “The Discursive Construction of Southeast Asia in 19th Century Colonial-Capitalist Discourse” (Amsterdam University Press, 2016). He has written extensively on Southeast Asia, with a special focus on 19th century colonial Southeast Asia.