Navigating Uncertainty: Our Region in an Age of Flux by Professor Joseph Liow
The Southeast Asian region, celebrated for its economic growth and rich cultural tapestry, currently stands at the crux of global power dynamics. In this lecture series, Professor Liow delves into the complex challenges and dynamics that shape the region. These range from the escalating rivalry between the United States and China, to the emerging centrifugal forces within the region itself. The region’s trajectory, tracing its path from Cold War turbulence to recent economic resurgence, is now facing geopolitical shifts and heightened risks of fragmentation arising from its inherent ethnic and religious diversity. By gaining a nuanced perspective on Southeast Asia’s history and domestic tensions, we can gain insight into the potential strategies the region; and vitally, Singapore can take in a rapidly changing global environment.
Southeast Asia in a Shifting Global Order: Grasping the Nettle or Groping in the Dark?
The fact that the countries of Southeast Asia have benefited greatly from globalisation and trade liberalisation is beyond doubt. Once described pejoratively as a “region in revolt” for the revolutions and political upheavals that peppered its Cold War history, Southeast Asia has enjoyed a period of peace and stability in the last three decades which, in turn, has enabled rapid economic growth. But a new era appears to be dawning. Defined by the return of geopolitics and great power rivalry, a global upsurge of populism and protectionism which threatens trade liberalisation, and the emergence of centrifugal forces that are straining ASEAN, not least of which is the crisis in Myanmar today. At the same time, given the growing traction of initiatives such as BRICS and the BRI, there is a discernible desire among countries of the so-called Global South to reduce reliance on, and curb exposure to, a US-dominated international system. Given the challenges confronting ASEAN and the emergence of competing visions of global order, this lecture considers the possibility of fundamental change in the prevailing order, what Southeast Asia can and needs to do in response, and finally, how a small state like Singapore can negotiate these tensions and headwinds.
Professor Barry Desker, Distinguished Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and Nanyang Professor of Practice at Nanyang Technological University, will be moderating the Question-and-Answer session of this lecture.
To find out more about Professor Joseph Liow, the 13th S R Nathan Fellow, click here.
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