Program
Asia
Southeast Asia’s Diverse Futures

We offer a textured understanding of Southeast Asian domestic and regional dynamics, avoiding analysis that treats the region as a proxy for the competition of outside powers.

The front of a large white ship is centered on a bright blue sky and blue ocean water. Lush green land and mountains along the horizon line
paper
Subsea Communication Cables in Southeast Asia: A Comprehensive Approach Is Needed

By treating undersea cables as critical infrastructure, Southeast Asian stakeholders can better manage geopolitical, environmental, and more conventional risks threatening cable resilience.

· December 18, 2024
In The Media
in the media
How Malaysia Can Boost ASEAN Agency and Centrality Amid Global Challenges

Beyond economic integration, which ASEAN already excels at relative to political-security and socio-cultural matters, Malaysia could build on ASEAN centrality and agency in the following mix of incremental and bold ways beginning next year.

· December 2, 2024
Asia Research Institute
In The Media
in the media
Pragmatic Southeast Asia Will Adapt to Trump’s ‘America First’ Agenda

Southeast Asia is bracing itself for the reinstatement of a more transactional and nationalist policy agenda in the White House.

· November 16, 2024
South China Morning Post
In The Media
in the media
Malaysia and BRICS — Building the Right Foundation?

As Malaysia joins BRICS, a diverse and at times divided group, questions remain about what the country stands to gain—and what it risks.

· October 25, 2024
Consider This
Indonesia's new President Prabowo Subianto (R) and his predecessor Joko Widodo (L) speak during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Parliament building in Jakarta on October 20, 2024
article
Prabowo’s Indonesia: Inheriting Democracy at Dusk

Prabowo Subianto, long viewed as an authoritarian threat, inherits a democracy that is less accountable and less competitive than at any other time since the country's political transition.

· October 22, 2024
In The Media
in the media
Decoding Madani Foreign Policy

A conversation about how Malaysia’s foreign policy is shaping up under the Madani government.

· October 2, 2024
The Breakfast Grille
In The Media
in the media
Southeast Asia Is Starting the Work of Fixing a Broken World Order

For relatively smaller Southeast Asian nations, multilateralism is simply too important to fail. Done right, it provides a perch of equality and effective cooperation for complex challenges that no one country–even a small group of powerful countries–can handle alone. 

· September 8, 2024
South China Morning Post
In The Media
in the media
Malaysia’s Path in a Contested Asia

A discussion on Malaysia’s approach to geopolitics and outlook for the future.

· September 5, 2024
The Asia Chessboard Podcast (CSIS)
In The Media
in the media
Southeast Asia Must Factor Big Tech Firms Into Its US-China Calculus

Southeast Asian states must recognise that it is not only countries but also large companies which shift the power balance on the global stage


· August 4, 2024
South China Morning Post
In The Media
in the media
On China and the US, Malaysia can walk and chew gum at the same time

At a time when the status quo no longer adequately reflects the desires of the global majority, it only makes sense for Malaysia to seek a more active role in different forums to secure its interests.

· July 3, 2024
South China Morning Post
In The Media
in the media
10 Years On, U.S.-Malaysia Relations Need to Adjust to a Changed World

The United States and Malaysia have remained indispensable, long-term friends, but the world is a much-changed place. It’s time for the relationship to be re-examined against this reality.

· June 5, 2024
South China Morning Post
commentary
Malaysia-Taiwan Economic Relations: Continued Convergence

Malaysia’s and Taiwan’s long-standing cooperation demonstrates a friendship that seems likely to endure, quite apart from political or even geopolitical constraints. 

· May 15, 2024
Global Taiwan Brief