11 July 2024.Dr. Kevin Henry Villanueva, Professor of Global Politics and Southeast Asian Diplomacy, successfully launched his work The Paradigm of Original Encounters at Librairie Sud-Est-Asie in Paris on 9 July 2024 with the support of the Philippine Embassy.
Professor Kevin Henry Villanueva discusses his work with ASEAN Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives. Representatives of ASEAN Embassies in Paris, including the ambassadors of the Philippines, Myanmar, and Brunei Darussalam, and officers from the Lao, Singaporean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Philippine embassies graced the event. SciencesPo’s Honorary Researcher and Southeast Asia expert David Camroux also attended the book launch. 
(L-R) Dr. Kevin Henry Villanueva, Prof. David Camroux, H.E. Junever Mahilum-West, H.E. Kyaw Zeya, and H.E. Datin Lamit Rakiah discuss The Paradigm of Original Encounters.
Dr. Villanueva gained the distinction as the First Professorial Fellow at the University of the Philippines for his pioneering work on consensus diplomacy while advocating for an “ASEAN School” of International Relations. He is the founding Director of ARISE (ASEAN Research Institute for Strategic Studies and Enterprise), the Philippines’ first think-tank devoted to the critical analysis and strategic policy research on ASEAN regional integration. He also contributed to the 5-volume commemorative compendium published by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs for the 50th ASEAN founding anniversary.
The work in focus is entitled The Paradigm of Original Encounters tackles the historical development of ASEAN and its unique consensus-based system through a moral and political lens. Dr. Villanueva draws an eight-point proposition that explores how ASEAN states conduct relations with one another and maintain a longstanding absence of interstate conflict. The book is an attempt to use humanist language and philosophy in studying communities in international relations.
Dr. Kevin Henry Villanueva and H.E. Junever Mahilum-West with Philippine Embassy officials and Mme. Pham Thieu Tu of Librairie Sud-Est-Asie. 
Dr. Kevin Henry Villanueva and H.E. Junever Mahilum-West in front of Librairie Sud-Est-Asie.
The launch was aptly held at Librairie Sud-Est-Asie, a bookstore of the Fraternité Europe-Asia which was founded in 1967 to promote mutual understanding and solidarity between the two continents. It houses several specialized works in French by authors from or about Southeast Asian countries. END.
