He is a Southeast Asian studies scholar who has specialized in the early modern and contemporary history of Burma/Myanmar. His research has been the early modern history of Arakan/Rakhine State, Bay of Bengal history, Buddhist-Muslim relations and the history of Burmese kingship. Jacques Leider studied history and Burmese language and civilization in Paris at Sorbonne University and INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, Paris) from 1981 to 1987. He underwent training as a high school teacher in Luxembourg where he taught history, geography and civics for several years. He holds a doctoral degree from the INALCO with a dissertation on the pre-colonial kingdom of Mrauk U in Arakan (now Rakhine State).
