EAST JAVA, Indonesia - Asian studies scholar Benedict Anderson died in his sleep in Batu, Indonesia, Sunday. He was 79.
Anderson is best known for his book Imagined Communities, published in 1983.
But after being barred from Indonesia by the late dictator Sukarno, Anderson's enforced absence from the country encouraged him to turn his energies elsewhere, with Thailand becoming a specialisation by the mid-1970s. He learned enough Thai to co-author a 1985 collection and study of translated modern Thai short stories.
Anderson's most influential work on Thailand was his 1977 essay Withdrawal Symptoms: Social and Cultural Aspects of the October 6 Coup, which analysed the social forces behind the 1976 counter-revolution and Thammasat massacre, just three years after a student-led revolt toppled a military dictatorship.
"His scholarship and commitment to progressive political change meant that he was an icon for scholars in the region and for all those who have studied the region," said Kevin Hewison, a professor of politics and international studies at Australia's Murdoch University.
"His analysis of Thailand's 1970s political turmoil remains unsurpassed and is as important today as it was when published." (Story continues below)
Anderson's article in this edition of the BCAS was the first academic attempt to analyse the 1976 Thammasat massacre and counter-revolution - and remains a classic study.
"Many readers of Imagined Communities did not know that his knowledge of Southeast Asian languages gave him insights into Indonesian, Thai, and Philippine political culture and history," said Prof Craig J Reynolds of Australian National University.
Anderson's influence was not limited to the sphere of theory, as he engaged with the contentious issues of the day with a rigorous analysis and dry wit that inspired his students.
"Throughout his life, he inspired successive generations of students to brush history against the grain by similarly marshalling every ounce of their intellectual creativity and courage to look at history and politics in totally new and greatly more profound ways," said Steve Heder, a research associate at London's School of Oriental and African Studies who studied under Anderson at Cornell.
According to a Philippine news website, Anderson was staying in a hotel in Batu, 20km northwest of Malang, when he died. He was travelling with a driver and colleagues.
The driver and his colleagues heard sounds from his bedroom. They took him to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, said the Philippines' TV5 news portal, Interaksyon.com.
Prof Patricio Abinales, formerly of the University of the Philippines and now of the University of Hawaii, confirmed Anderson's death in a post on his Facebook page.
Anderson was born in China, to James O'Gorman Anderson and Veronica Bigham, and in 1941 the family moved to California.
In 1957, Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts in classics from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, and later earned a PhD from Cornell's Department of Government in Ithica, New York, where he studied Modern Indonesia under the guidance of George Kahin.
He is the brother of historian Perry Anderson.
Some of Anderson's works became reference points for scholars and students in Indonesia.
He was banned from entering the country after criticising the regime of the late Indonesia strongman Suharto.
Only after Suharto fell from power was Anderson able to return to Indonesia.