Paul van der Velde works at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS, Leiden/Amsterdam). He served as Secretary of the International Convention of Asia Scholars for many years. He is Secretary of the ICAS Book Prize and General Editor of the IIAS and ICAS Book Series published by Amsterdam University Press. He is co-editor with Sebastian Bersick and Wim Stokhof of Multiregionalsim and Multilateralism. Asian-European Relations in a Global Context (Amsterdam: AUP 2006). His most recent publication is Life under the Palms: The Sublime World of Jacob Haafner, 1754-1809 (NUS: Singapore) 2020.