Professor Fibiger conducts research on twentieth century international history, focusing on political economy and foreign policy in Southeast Asia.

Professor Fibiger's current book project is entitled Suharto's Cold War: Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and the World. It examines how the Indonesian dictator Suharto used the global Cold War to wage his own domestic and regional Cold Wars, first by constructing a developmental authoritarian regime in Indonesia and then by projecting his developmental authoritarian vision outward into Southeast Asia. Based on archival research in eight countries and four languages, including the central archival records of the Suharto regime, the book recasts authoritarianism and development as international and transnational phenomena.

Professor Fibiger has articles, book chapters, and working papers on a diverse array of topics, including the origins of neoconservatism, the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, the Mayaguez crisis of 1975, and the effects of the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia.