TED Community » Sophal Ear

Sign in to send Sophal an email »

About Me

Sophal Ear, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, where he teaches courses on Stabilization and Reconstruction, Research Methods, and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining NPS, he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He has consulted for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and was an Assistant Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme Timor-Leste in 2002-2003. A graduate of Berkeley and Princeton, he moved to the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10.

CURRENT POSITION

Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track). Department of National Security Affairs, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, June 2007-present. Teaching graduate-level “Introduction to Stabilization and Reconstruction” (NS3026), “Capstone Seminar on Stabilization and Reconstruction” (NS4026) in post-conflict countries and “Research Methods” (NS3011) classes in the Summer and Fall Quarters as well as short Regional Security Education Program focusing on Southeast Asia on U.S. Navy ships/carriers. Secret-level Clearance based on an Access National Agency Check with Inquiries (ANACI) Investigation completed May 19, 2008.

POST-DOCTORAL

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Public Administration, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, August 2006-May 2007. Taught graduate-level course on “Policy and Administration in Developing Countries”.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley. Political Science. May 2006.
Dissertation: The Political Economy of Aid, Governance, and Policy-Making: Cambodia in Global, National, and Sectoral Perspectives.
Committee: David K. Leonard (Dissertation Chair), Bruce E. Cain, A. James Gregor, and Teh-Wei Hu (School of Public Health).

Ph.D. Examinations Passed
Orals Qualifying Exam (Advanced to Candidacy): January 2003.
East Asia (with emphasis on Southeast Asia): October 2002.
Methodology: May 2002 (course option).
Comparative Politics: March 2002.

M.A. University of California, Berkeley. Political Science. May 2002.
Essay: HHas More Aid Worsened Governance Since 1995? A Large-N Study of Six Quality of Governance IndicatorsH. (Reviewers: Pradeeb Chibber, Jim Robinson, and David K. Leonard).

M.S. University of California, Berkeley. Agricultural and Resource Economics. December 2001.

M.P.A. Princeton University. Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Field: Economics and Public Policy. June 1997.
(Taught by Ben Bernanke, Ken Rogoff, and Angus Deaton among others)

B.A. University of California, Berkeley. Economics and Political Science (highest honors in both majors, distinction in general scholarship). May 1995.
Political Science Honors Thesis: HThe Khmer Rouge Canon 1975-1979: The Standard Total Academic View on CambodiaH (Advisor: A. James Gregor)
Economics Honors Thesis: HCambodia's Economic Development and History: A Contribution to the Study of the Cambodian EconomyHH (Advisors: Martha Olney and Alain de Janvry)

Center for Khmer Studies, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia
CKS Fellow, 2004-2005.
Royal Academy of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Blakemore-Freeman Fellow, 2003-2004.
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Research Fellow, Summer 1996.

TEACHING FIELDS

* Post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction
* Development administration and public policy
* Comparative politics and political economy of Southeast Asia
* Research methods
FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS, AND GRANTS

* Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) Fellowship (2009)
* June Pallot Award for Best Article in the International Public Management Journal, Volume 10, (2007)
* Dean’s Normative Time to Degree Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley (2005-2006)
* Council of American Overseas Research Centers-funded Center for Khmer Studies Fellowship (2004)
* Blakemore-Freeman Fellowship for Advanced Language Study in Cambodia (2003-2004)
* Chancellor’s Opportunity Predoctoral Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley (2000-2003)
* Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for the Study of Khmer at the Southeast Asia Summer Studies Institute (2001)
* Center for Southeast Asian Studies Summer Grant, University of California, Berkeley (2001)
* Ford Foundation-funded, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation-managed Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow (1995-1997)
* Stevenson Fellow, Princeton University (1996-1997)
* University Fellowship, Princeton University (1996-1997)
* Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace Certificate of Appreciation for Service (1996)
* Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Summer Internship Grant (1996)
* Ronald E. McNair Scholar, University of California, Berkeley (1994-1995)

Location:
United States, Monterey, CA
Current organization:
Naval Postgraduate School
Past organizations:
World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Sussex University
Current role:
Assistant Professor
Gender:
Male
Areas of expertise:
Political Science, Public Policy, Political Analyst, Southeast Asia, post-conflict reconstruction, Political Economy of Development, Comparative politics, Methodology, Agriculture and resource economics, East Asia and Pacific
I am:
Buddhist, Change Agent, Consultant, Educator/Teacher, Filmmaker, Foodie, Parent, Public servant, World traveler, Writer/Editor
Languages:
English, French, Khmer, Spanish, Vietnamese
My website links:
My US Naval Postgraduate School Faculty Page, My UC Berkeley homepage, Om Radsady School that I helped build
Universities:
Princeton University, UC Berkeley, Maxwell School at Syracuse University
TED conferences attended:
TEDActive 2011, TED2010, TED2009
Member Picture Member Picture Member Picture

TEDCRED 500+ TED FellowAssociateTED AttendeeTED TranslatorTEDx Organizer

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Cambodia, Southeast Asia, development, post-conflict recon,growth, governance, accountability, justice, rule of law, Avian Influenza & global response to it, emerging infectious diseases surveillance,

An idea worth spreading

That linking labor to trade has worked in Cambodia, in other words, that a little less sweat flowed from Cambodia's sweatshops, and that you can support its success by buying garments that are Made in Cambodia.

Talk to me about

Cambodia, Southeast Asia, development, post-conflict recon,growth, governance, accountability, justice, rule of law, Avian Influenza & global response to it, emerging infectious diseases surveillance

People don't know that I'm good at

Karaoke singing

My TED Story

I learned about TED last year, on a plane back to Monterey where I live. Bud Enright was riding next to me. The next thing I know, we become friends, and he tells me about this conference he's attending with all these amazing people speaking. I can't believe it. I'm now part of TED too.

Comments

  • TEDCred score: +1742.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

  • +15

    A comment on Talk: Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

    Oct 14 2009: It is my solemn duty to inform you that on 5 October 2009, my 73 year-old mother, Mrs. Cam Youk Lim, passed away two days after what appeared to have been successful quadruple heart bypass surgery. When we went together to TED2009 Long Beach in February, I had a feeling in the back of my mind that this might be the last time she would travel by plane (albeit on a relatively short flight from the San Francisco Bay Area). I was glad that on 17 April 2005, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge, she authored a Lives piece in the New York Times Magazine (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/magazine/17LIVES.html?ex=1271390400&en=17626bde97468e35&ei=5088) for which I played scribe and translator to her. My mother was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1936 and lived to save six lives during the Killing Fields, with 14 grand children since then, the count is now up to 20 lives. Mother, I miss you so much and I love you. May you rest in peace always.
  • +2

    A reply on Talk: Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

    Sep 11 2009: Absolutely I was using irony (to poor effect because I remember reading a similar comment on the YouTube version of this TEDTalk). I do not literally believe that money in and of itself is evil! The Khmer Rouge believed this, and even banning money does not get rid of evil (as the Khmer Rouge experience showed). In fact, what I had thought of doing was to quote Mark Twain who said "The lack of money is the root of all evil." But when you're on stage and the clock is ticking down from six minutes, things are going to be left out. By the way, I have an Op-Ed entitled "Cambodian 'Justice'" in the Wall Street Journal (Asia Edition) that came out on 1 September 2009:
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203946904574301583107436174.html

Favorite talksSee all »