Research Bio

Lisandro Claudio is an intellectual and cultural historian whose research investigates liberalism, nationalism, and decolonization in Southeast Asia. He is best known for his award-winning book Liberalism and the Postcolony: Thinking the State in the Philippines and Beyond, which examines how liberal ideas shaped Philippine political thought. 

His latest book, The Profligate Colonial: How The U.S. Exported Austerity Through the Philippines, 1902-1986 (Cornell University Press), traces the historical and cultural roots of economic conservatism in the Philippines, while also examining the globalization of US ideas about austerity.  

He is an Associate Professor of South and Southeast Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. His research has been published in Southeast Asian Studies, Philippine Studies,  Southeast Asia Research, and The Global South. Claudio has received the George Kahin award from the Association of Asian Studies. At Berkeley, he teaches Southeast Asian intellectual history, mentoring students in postcolonial and interdisciplinary humanities research.

Research Expertise and Interest

Philippines, theories of liberalism, history and culture of Southeast Asia, austerity in the global south