RSIS Commentaries are published by the
School to provide timely and, where appropriate,
policy relevant background and analysis of
contemporary developments. Listed here are
the commentaries published since the recent
inauguration of the series in October 2001.
Avian Flu and the International Debate on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property
by Geoffrey Yu RSIS Commentaries No. 137 Click here to download Commentary
Pakistan’s Gwadar Port and Singapore:Why Peace in Balochistan is Crucial by Khuram Iqbal RSIS Commentaries No. 136 Click here to download Commentary
Nepal and the Communists: The long march to democracy? by Sujoyini Mandal RSIS Commentaries No. 135 Click here to download Commentary
The Middle East Peace Talks: Bracing for the Challenge of Militancy by Shiran Ali RSIS Commentaries No. 134 Click here to download Commentary
A Whole-of- Government Approach:Lessons from the Philippine counter-insurgency by Taharudin Piang Ampatuan RSIS Commentaries No. 133 Click here to download Commentary
Prospects for an ASEAN Nuclear Cooperation: A common nuclear facility ? by Alvin Chew RSIS Commentaries No. 132 Click here to download Commentary
Marginalisation and the Indian Community in Malaysia by Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 131 Click here to download Commentary
The Rise of Rudd and the Fall of Howard:Policy Implications for Southeast Asia by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 130 Click here to download Commentary
November
Pakistan’s Political Instability: Musharraf Still the Solution? by Nurfarahislinda Ismail and Sher Khan RSIS Commentaries No. 129 Click here to download Commentary
Time to Listen to the Afghans by Hekmat Karzai and Julian Lindley-French RSIS Commentaries No. 128 Click here to download Commentary
US-CHINA TIES:Seeking Common Ground amid Mutual Suspicions by Arthur Ding RSIS Commentaries No. 127 Click here to download Commentary
Defence Budgeting in Indonesia: Some Policy Options by Yuddy Chrisnandi and Leonard C. Sebastian RSIS Commentaries No. 126 Click here to download Commentary
Iran’s Peace Pipeline by Jesmeen Khan RSIS Commentaries No. 125 Click here to download Commentary
Contemporary China; Confucius returns by Nadege Orban RSIS Commentaries No. 124 Click here to download Commentary
Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Are Regional Security Frameworks Prepared? by Mely Caballero-Anthony RSIS Commentaries No. 123 Click here to download Commentary
Regional Financial Integration: When Leadership is Needed by Richard W. Carney RSIS Commentaries No. 122 Click here to download Commentary
The ASEAN Charter Controversy:Between Big Talk and Modest Actions by Hiro Katsumata RSIS Commentaries No. 121 Click here to download Commentary
The Fight against Terrorism: What Role for ASEAN? by Ralf Emmers RSIS Commentaries No. 120 Click here to download Commentary
ASEAN’S FUTURE IDENTITY: IMAGINED OR IMITATION COMMUNITY? by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 119 Click here to download Commentary
Emergency/Martial Law in Pakistan: Bracing for the Fallout by Khuram Iqbal RSIS Commentaries No. 118 Click here to download Commentary
Counter-Terrorism in Indonesia:Velvet-Glove Approach Works by Widjaya Yang Hui, Jennifer RSIS Commentaries No. 117 Click here to download Commentary
Multiculturalism in Singapore:The Ties that Bind and Blind by Yolanda Chin and Norman Vasu RSIS Commentaries No. 116 Click here to download Commentary
October
The 17th CPC Congress:The Transition that the world Missed by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 115 Click here to download Commentary
AFGHAN NEGOTIATIONS:Fairy Tale in the Making? by Prakhar Sharma RSIS Commentaries No. 114 Click here to download Commentary
Democracy Under Threat in Pakistan? by Syed Adnan Ali Shah Bukhari RSIS Commentaries No. 113 Click here to download Commentary
ASEAN Regional Forum:Time to move towards Preventive Diplomacy by Ralf Emmers RSIS Commentaries No. 112 Click here to download Commentary
Is Nuclear Energy a Viable Option for All? by Alvin Chew RSIS Commentaries No. 111 Click here to download Commentary
The ASEAN Community:Trusting Thy Neighbour? by Christopher Roberts RSIS Commentaries No. 110 Click here to download Commentary
ASEAN: Act on Climate Change by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 109 Click here to download Commentary
The PLAN reaches the Atlantic Assessing Chinese Navy’s recent naval exercises by Loro Horta RSIS Commentaries No. 108 Click here to download Commentary
Making Aid Work for Africa by Paul Kagame RSIS Commentaries No. 107 Click here to download Commentary
Return of the Bedouin Days: Iraq Insurgency leading to Tribalism by Nidaa Abu-Ali RSIS Commentaries No. 106 Click here to download Commentary
India’s Once and Future Defence Industry by Richard A Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 105 Click here to download Commentary
ASEAN : TIME TO SUSPEND MYANMAR by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 104 Click here to download Commentary
India’s Outdated Myanmar Policy:Time for a Change by C Raja Mohan RSIS Commentaries No. 103 Click here to download Commentary
Plight of Myanmar’s People: Challenges for the International Community by Christopher Roberts RSIS Commentaries No. 102 Click here to download Commentary
Needed: A cool Assessment on Terrorism by Gerard Chaliand RSIS Commentaries No. 101 Click here to download Commentary
September
Military Succession in Thailand: Mirage or Mirror of Hope? by Jolene Jerard RSIS Commentaries No. 100 Click here to download Commentary
Putin’s Matryoshka Plays by Nurfarahislinda M. Ismail RSIS Commentaries No. 99 Click here to download Commentary
21st Century Warfare: Computers as the New Centre of Gravity by Bernard Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 98 Click here to download Commentary
Timor-Leste and China: The dragon’s newest friend by Loro Horta RSIS Commentaries No. 97 Click here to download Commentary
Shifting Thai-Indian Relations: From Differing Perceptions to Bridging Roles? by Chulacheeb Chinwanno RSIS Commentaries No. 96 Click here to download Commentary
WHY APEC NEEDS RESULTS IN SYDNEY by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 95 Click here to download Commentary
ASEAN AT 40: THE END OF A TWO-SPEED GROUPING? by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 94 Click here to download Commentary
The Security Dimension of Climate Change by Hoo Tiang Boon and Ng Sue-Chia RSIS Commentaries No. 93 Click here to download Commentary
Slippery Peace in the Southern Philippines: Any Way Out? by Taharuddin Piang Ampatuan RSIS Commentaries No. 92 Click here to download Commentary
August
Japan and India: The Making of a New Alliance? by C. Raja Mohan RSIS Commentaries No. 91 Click here to download Commentary
China’s Revolution in Military Affairs: Good Enough for Government Work? by Richard Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 90 Click here to download Commentary
PLA’s New Military Revolution: Developing Talent by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 89 Click here to download Commentary
The Iraq Quagmire: The Subtext of the Security Sub-Committee by Zhou Suli RSIS Commentaries No. 88 Click here to download Commentary
Climate Change: ASEAN Plus 3’s New Concern by Chen Gang and Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 87 Click here to download Commentary
The Southern Insurgency: Rethinking Thailand’s Military Strategy by Prashanth Parameswaran RSIS Commentaries No. 86 Click here to download Commentary
India in the face of global jihad: Time to re-evaluate? by Sujoyini Mandal RSIS Commentaries No. 85 Click here to download Commentary
Turkey and Democracy in the Muslim World by Mohamed Nawab Mohd Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 84 Click here to download Commentary
Australia’s Defence Update 2007: Implications for Southeast Asia by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 83 Click here to download Commentary
July
ASEAN’s 40th Anniversary: Great Achievements and New Challenges by Hiro Katsumata RSIS Commentaries No. 82 Click here to download Commentary
East Asian Security: India’s Rising Profile by C. Raja Mohan RSIS Commentaries No. 81 Click here to download Commentary
A Risk-based Approach for Homeland Security by Tay Thiam Chye RSIS Commentaries No. 80 Click here to download Commentary
The Singapore Armed Forces and Domestic Security by Terence Lee RSIS Commentaries No. 79 Click here to download Commentary
The Rush for Nuclear Energy in Southeast Asia: Promises and Pitfalls by Mely Caballero-Anthony & Sofiah Jamil RSIS Commentaries No. 78 Click here to download Commentary
Freedom of Belief and the Paradox of “Islam Hadhari”: Perspective of an Indonesian by Luthfi Assyaukanie RSIS Commentaries No. 77 Click here to download Commentary
Extremism in Pakistan: Time for decisive action by Arabinda Acharya and Khuram Iqdal RSIS Commentaries No. 76 Click here to download Commentary
Is Pakistan Lost to the Extremists by Barkha Shah and Mohammad Nawab Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 75 Click here to download Commentary
The Internet and Do-It-Yourself Jihadism: Much Less Than meets The Eye? by Bernard Fook Weng Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 74 Click here to download Commentary
The SEZ Plan for Batam,Bintan, and Karimun: Looking Back and Ahead by Nankyung Choi RSIS Commentaries No. 73 Click here to download Commentary
Grace in Times of Friction: The Complexity of Social Resilience by Norman Vasu RSIS Commentaries No. 72 Click here to download Commentary
Abu Sayaf’s New Leader: Yasser Igasan The Religious Scholar by Taharudin Piang Ampatuan RSIS Commentaries No. 71 Click here to download Commentary
Lessons and Indications from the UK Plot by John Harrison RSIS Commentaries No. 70 Click here to download Commentary
Car Bombs.Com Internet-Enabled Terrorism and Homegrown Jihadist by Rebecca Givner-Forbes RSIS Commentaries No. 69 Click here to download Commentary
The IMF: Dogma Versus Unorthodoxy Can We afford another Clash? by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 68 Click here to download Commentary
Remembering the Asian Financial Crisis: Lessons for Emerging Economics by Barkha Shah RSIS Commentaries No. 67 Click here to download Commentary
June
The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis:Ten Years On by Shiping Tang RSIS Commentaries No. 66 Click here to download Commentary
The Beijing Olympics and China’s Militant Groups by Kenneth George Pereire RSIS Commentaries No. 65 Click here to download Commentary
Pakistan: The Army’s Growing Political Role by Barkha Shah RSIS Commentaries No. 64 Click here to download Commentary
Putting All Cards on the Table: Trust and Soft Power in the War by Bahtiar Effendy RSIS Commentaries No. 63 Click here to download Commentary
THE NEW PAS: RE-DEFINING THE FUTURE OF ISLAMIST POLITICS by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 62 Click here to download Commentary
Self-Radicalisation: The Case of Abdul Basheer Abdul Kader by Kumar Ramakrishna RSIS Commentaries No. 61 Click here to download Commentary
Turkey & the Türban: The Dilemmas of Laicist Ideology by Karim D. Crow RSIS Commentaries No. 60 Click here to download Commentary
China Warms Up for Battle on Global Warming by Chen Gang and Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 59 Click here to download Commentary
Does China Still Need Hong Kong? by Friedrich Wu RSIS Commentaries No. 58 Click here to download Commentary
The OIC’s Journey to Enlightenment by Sofiah Jamil RSIS Commentaries No. 57 Click here to download Commentary
The Threat of WMD Terrorism: ASEAN Needs to respond by Rajesh M. Basrur RSIS Commentaries No. 56 Click here to download Commentary
The 53rd PAS Congress: Implications for Malaysian Politics by Joseph Chinyong Liow and Mohamad Nawab Mohamad Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 55 Click here to download Commentary
The JFK Plot: Similarities and Differences with Global Terrorism by John Harrison RSIS Commentaries No. 54 Click here to download Commentary
In response to Robert Beckman by Mark J. Valencia RSIS Commentaries No. 53 Click here to download Commentary
The Tao of Spider-Man: Lessons for Singapore Defence and Diplomacy by Tan See Seng RSIS Commentaries No. 52 Click here to download Commentary
Faint Signals and a New Form of Jihadism: Host Community – Supported Jihadism by Arabinda Acharya and Tom Quiggin RSIS Commentaries No. 51 Click here to download Commentary
May
A Drop in the Ocean: China’s Aspirations to Acquire an Aircraft Carrier by Richard A. Bitzinger and Paul T. Mitchell RSIS Commentaries No. 50 Click here to download Commentary
The Digital Divide: Networks. Armies and Coalitions by Paul T. Mitchell RSIS Commentaries No. 49 Click here to download Commentary
Strategic Trends 2007-2036 Right Horizon Scanning, Wrong Military Responses by Bernard FW Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 48 Click here to download Commentary
The Future of the Malaysian Opposition by Mohamed Nawab Mohd Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 47 Click here to download Commentary
Joint Development in the South China Sea: Time for ASEAN and China to Pormote Cooperation? by Robert Beckman RSIS Commentaries No. 46 Click here to download Commentary
Thailand’s Zakat Funds Bill Regulating charities with sensitivity by Kenneth George Pereire RSIS Commentaries No. 45 Click here to download Commentary
33 days: An Intense month of High-Level Diplomacy by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 44 Click here to download Commentary
The First information War? Russia’s Cyberwar Against Estonia by Paul T. Mitchell RSIS Commentaries No. 43 Click here to download Commentary
Bush’s Decision to Accede to UNCLOS Why it is important for Asia by Robert Beckman RSIS Commentaries No. 42 Click here to download Commentary
Taliban: Why Dadullah’s Death matters by Hekmat Karzai RSIS Commentaries No. 41 Click here to download Commentary
Living In a Non-Muslim Country: Responding To The Idea of Hijrah (Migration) by Muhammad Haniff Hassan RSIS Commentaries No. 40 Click here to download Commentary
Trade Security: Why a Trade Recovery Programme is Vital by See Chak Mun RSIS Commentaries No. 39 Click here to download Commentary
North Korea:Lessons Behind the “Small Technical Problem” by Qi Dapeng and Tang Shiping RSIS Commentaries No. 38 Click here to download Commentary
ASEAN and the Poor Seafarers The price of additional maritime security by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 37 Click here to download Commentary
Indian and the United States: Can the Nuclear Deal Hold? by Rajesh M. Basrur RSIS Commentaries No. 36 Click here to download Commentary
April
Turkey’s Gulen Movenment and Global Islamic Activism by Mohamed Nawab Mohd Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 35 Click here to download Commentary
Ji’s New Military Division: A Preliminary Assessment by Evan A. Laksmana RSIS Commentaries No. 34 Click here to download Commentary
Mapping the Electronic Jihad: An Outline of the Virtual Jihadi Community by Rebecca Givner-Forbes and Clay Shwery RSIS Commentaries No. 33 Click here to download Commentary
Premier Wen’s Japan Visit: China’s “New Thinking” at Work? by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 32 Click here to download Commentary
Comparing Iraq and Vietnam: What and when is victory? by Greg Mills RSIS Commentaries No. 31 Click here to download Commentary
The New Silk Road: Time for an Arab-Asian Free Trade Area? by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 30 Click here to download Commentary
The 17th CCP Congress: The Issue of Succession by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 29 Click here to download Commentary
Will General Musharraf Survive Current Political Discontent? by Mohamed Nawab Bin Mohamed Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 28 Click here to download Commentary
‘We Band of Brothers….’: Military decision,strategic success,and the Revolution in Military Affairs by Bernard Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 27 Click here to download Commentary
European Defense’s Never-ending Death Spiral by Richard A. Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 26 Click here to download Commentary
Contextualising The Fiqh-or-law-of Jihad by Muhammad Haniff Hassan RSIS Commentaries No. 25 Click here to download Commentary
March
China and Japan set to redefine South Asian Geopolitics by C. Raja Mohan RSIS Commentaries No. 24 Click here to download Commentary
Timor Leste’s Upcoming Elections An Assessment by Loro Horta RSIS Commentaries No. 23 Click here to download Commentary
The Rise of Religious Bylaws in Indonesia by Luthfi Assyaukanie RSIS Commentaries No. 22 Click here to download Commentary
Destructive Mekong Dams: Critical Need for Transparency by Richard P. Cronin RSIS Commentaries No. 21 Click here to download Commentary
Adjusting to the New Middle East by Mohamed Nawab Mohd Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 20 Click here to download Commentary
Is Poso all about JI? The roots of the Conflict by Evan A. Laksmana RSIS Commentaries No. 19 Click here to download Commentary
Trends In Piracy And Armed Sea Robbery In Southeast Asia by Jane Chan and Joshua Ho RSIS Commentaries No. 18 Click here to download Commentary
Toward a new World Maritime Community: Cooperative by Yohei Sasakawa RSIS Commentaries No. 17 Click here to download Commentary
What if Iran is Attacked? by Arabinda Acharya and Tom Quiggin RSIS Commentaries No. 16 Click here to download Commentary
Election Boycott Should Worry Malaysian Government by Mohamed Nawab Mohd Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 15 Click here to download Commentary
February
Is What You See Really What you Get? A Different Take on China’s Defence Budget by Richard A. Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 14 Click here to download Commentary
A Question of Values? Changing Strategies in the Ideological Battle against Terrorism by S P Harish RSIS Commentaries No. 13 Click here to download Commentary
Perils of the Deep: The Dangers of Submarine Operations in Asia by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 12 Click here to download Commentary
Reforming the Military Schoolhouse by Paul T. Mitchell RSIS Commentaries No. 11 Click here to download Commentary
Climate Change and the Muslim World: The OIC Can do with ‘Captain Planet’ by Sofiah Jamil RSIS Commentaries No. 10 Click here to download Commentary
Can Southeast Asia afford to Wait? Coping with Floods and Humanitarian Emergencies by Mely Caballero-Anthony RSIS Commentaries No. 9 Click here to download Commentary
ASEAN-CHINA RELATIONS: THE NEXT FIFTEEN YEARS by Kwa Chong Guan RSIS Commentaries No. 8 Click here to download Commentary
The Tyranny of the Tactical by Sir Richard Dearlove and Tom Quiggin RSIS Commentaries No. 7 Click here to download Commentary
January
The Transformation of the RSAF: The Organisational Dimension by Adrian W. J. Kuah RSIS Commentaries No. 6 Click here to download Commentary
From Hegemony to Loose Bipolarity: The Evolving Geopolitics of the US, EU and China by Richard Carney and Richard A. Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 5 Click here to download Commentary
Why Shoot It Down Now? Understanding China’s missile firing into outer space by Loro Horta RSIS Commentaries No. 4 Click here to download Commentary
SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY STANDARDS How companies can benefit from voluntary compliance by Joshua Ho RSIS Commentaries No. 3 Click here to download Commentary
The future of East Asian Institutionalism by Ralf Emmers RSIS Commentaries No. 2 Click here to download Commentary
Revisiting Dar Al-Islam (land of Islam) and Dar Al-Harb (land of War) by Muhammad Haniff Hassan RSIS Commentaries No. 1 Click here to download Commentary
