2/11/2022 | Southeast Asia and the Future of the Rules-based (Liberal) Order
Friday, February 11, 2022
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EST
WebEx Event
Of late, the notion of a rules-based order (RBO) has been used in many foreign policy speeches, both among American policy makers and those in Southeast Asia. Linked to this notion of a rules-based order is the view that a liberal international order (LIO) best secures the interests of countries around the world, and one that is related to America’s normative preference of how the world should be ordered. However, the growing prominence of so-called illiberal states like China and Russia in recent years have challenged the future of a liberal international order. Drawing from the fieldwork interviews conducted over the past two months, this talk will examine various iterations of the concepts of RBO/LIO among American scholars/thinkers and how they reflect American views towards Southeast Asia and the extent to which countries in the region support America’s vision of the world.
Speaker
Benjamin Ho is Assistant Professor at the China Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore. He obtained his PhD from the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. His research focus includes the study of China’s international relations, with an emphasis on Chinese political worldview and exceptionalism thinking. Other research interests include security multilateralism in the Asia Pacific region with a focus on regional institutions and fora, national security (intelligence), the sociology of religion and public theology (Christianity). His research articles have been published in the America Journal of Chinese Studies, China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, East Asia: An International Quarterly, Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, Asia Policy, Australian Journal of International Affairs and the Yale Journal of International Affairs. Since joining RSIS, Benjamin has been involved in a number of think-tank events and conferences including the Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI), the Pacific Young Leaders programme and CSCAP meetings.
Moderator
David Shambaugh (he/him) joined the faculty at GW in 1996 as Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and Professor of Political Science & International Affairs. In 2017 he was appointed to an endowed chair as Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & international Affairs.
In 1998, he founded the China Policy Program. The China Policy Program was created to build upon the Elliott School’s longstanding expertise and involvement in U.S.-China relations and contemporary Chinese affairs and to serve primarily as an outreach program to the policy community in Washington, officials and China specialists around the world, the media, and the public. Highlights of CPP’s programming include sponsoring tailored briefings for Executive Branch officials, Congressional staff, and Members of Congress related to China and U.S.-China relations or for members of the corporate community on China; receiving and briefing visiting delegations from Asia, Europe, and the United States on issues related to China; and sponsoring media briefings, pegged to current and medium-term events in China and U.S.-China relations.
Professor Shambaugh has been selected for numerous awards and grants, including as a Senior Fulbright Scholar (at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Distinguished Research Professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, and other visiting appointments in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Russia. He has received research grants from the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Smith Richardson Foundation, Hinrich Foundation, German Marshall Fund, British Academy, and U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
