In conjunction with FASS’ 90th anniversary, the Department of Political Science is organising a public lecture series on the Practice of Foreign Affairs. The guest lecturer is former Ambassador and currently Chairman of the Middle East Institute, Mr Bilahari Kausikan.
Date: 30 Jan, 20 Feb, 13 Mar, 20 Mar & 3 Apr
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Venue: FASS LT11 (Click for map)
Sign up for the lecture via the following links:
https://tinyurl.com/polsci-sfp-nusmembers (NUS members)
https://tinyurl.com/polsci-sfp-public (Public members)
The synopses for the lectures are as follows:
Lecture One: How to Think about Foreign Policy?
30 January 2019
The first lecture situates the fundamental role of national interests in foreign policy. Why are Singapore’s national interests not better and more widely understood? The talk examines some common errors in thinking about foreign policy, as well as the creation and maintenance of relevance for a small city-state, and why small countries should not behave like small countries.
Lecture Two: Origins I – Relations with Malaysia and Indonesia
20 February 2019
The second lecture conveys the inevitable complexity of relations with Singapore’s neighbours. It provides an overview of the systemic origins of bilateral tensions with our neighbours, focusing on the uses and abuses of history, and the roles of ‘baggage’ and personality. The talk ends with thoughts on how Singapore could manage complexity and cope with competing nationalisms with our neighbours.
Lecture Three: Origins II – ASEAN: Vital but Limited
13 March 2019
The third lecture discusses the origins of regionalism in Southeast Asia. It explains the necessity but also the limits of ASEAN. The talk will suggest that ‘it is pointless to criticise a cow for being an imperfect horse’.
Lecture Four: The New Global and Regional Strategic Context
20 March 2019
The fourth lecture looks at the key factors driving change in the global and regional order. Issues to be explored include: the nature of US-China relations, coping with competing influences, the roles of Japan, India, Australia, Russia and the EU. The talk also offers thoughts as to why the future of East Asia will be multi-polar.
Lecture Five: Future Challenges
3 April 2019
The final lecture in the series examines the interaction of foreign policy and domestic politics. It offers thoughts on how to manage uncertainty and emerging systemic vulnerabilities in Singapore.
Good evening, I am having some trouble registering, because the form is no longer available. May I ask what I can do?
Hi can I sign up for 2 seats for the talk tonight ? My mobile is 9823 5040 . Thank you
Hi, will the second lecture webcast be ready soon?
Thank you.
I consider myself still a new citizen of Singapore, and I am very happy that our country has someone like Mr Bilahari Kausikan. I have learned a lot from him regarding Singapore and its foreign policy and am convinced that I did not err changing citizenship. No, he did not pay me to write this. I know him but he definitely does not know me. I am just wondering who is succeeding him in the future and I strongly believe that Singapore needs one.