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.
Global Threat Assessment 2009 by Rohan Gunaratna RSIS Commentaries No. 138 Click here to download Commentary
The Indigenisation of Terrorism in India by Ryan Clarke RSIS Commentaries No. 137 Click here to download Commentary
SEA LEVEL RISE: Will the Maldives disappear? by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 136 Click here to download Commentary
Defence Spending and Military Modernisation:SHOULD IT BE RECESSION-PROOF? by Richard A. Bitzinger, Adrian Kuah Wee Jin and Bernard F.W. Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 135 Click here to download Commentary
Barack Obama: Winds of Change in the War on Terror? by Nhina Le Thi Minh Huong RSIS Commentaries No. 134 Click here to download Commentary
TOWARDS A PACIFIC CENTURY: The East Asian capitalist model and Free Trade by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 133 Click here to download Commentary
CHANGE WITHOUT CHANGING: Obama’s Gate-keeper in Defence by William Thomas RSIS Commentaries No. 132 Click here to download Commentary
The Vulnerability of Heritage Spaces: Lessons from Mumbai by Joanna Phua RSIS Commentaries No. 131 Click here to download Commentary
MUMBAI ATTACKS: A New Wave of Citizen Journalism by Li Hongyan RSIS Commentaries No. 130 Click here to download Commentary
The Responsibility to Protect: Is there a viable strategy? by Bernard F.W. Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 129 Click here to download Commentary
WHY MUMBAI? by Bill Durodié RSIS Commentaries No. 128 Click here to download Commentary
MUMBAI’S AFTERMATH: Can India, Pakistan Close Ranks? by C. Raja Mohan RSIS Commentaries No. 127 Click here to download Commentary
“DRAMATISING” COUNTER-IDEOLOGY by Mohamed Redzuan Salleh & Muhammad Haniff Hassan RSIS Commentaries No. 126 Click here to download Commentary
November
In Defence of Singapore’s Military History by Ong Wei Chong RSIS Commentaries No. 125 Click here to download Commentary
Protest Culture in Thailand by Antonio L Rappa RSIS Commentaries No. 124 Click here to download Commentary
Somalia-type Piracy: Why it will not happen in Southeast Asia by Sam Bateman and Joshua Ho RSIS Commentaries No. 123 Click here to download Commentary
Is Internet Radicalization Possible? by Bill Durodié & Ng Sue Chia RSIS Commentaries No. 122 Click here to download Commentary
China’s Military-Industrial Complex:Is It (Finally) Turning a Corner? by Richard A. Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 121 Click here to download Commentary
POST-SUHARTO INDONESIA: Can a military coup happen? by Evan A. Laksmana RSIS Commentaries No. 120 Click here to download Commentary
LEGACY OF THE BALI TRIO: A Changing Threat Pattern from Jemaah Islamiyah by V. Arianti RSIS Commentaries No. 119 Click here to download Commentary
The Dynamics of Global Oil Prices by Alvin Chew RSIS Commentaries No. 118 Click here to download Commentary
The Extremists’ Next Web Outlet: YouTube and Friendster by Nur Azlin Mohamed Yasin RSIS Commentaries No. 117 Click here to download Commentary
BALI BOMBERS’ PRE-EXECUTION STATEMENT:How much Islamic weight? by Muhammad Haniff Hassan & Mohamed Redzuan Salleh RSIS Commentaries No. 116 Click here to download Commentary
October
GLOBAL RECESSION, GLOBAL WARMING:Will Climate Change Negotiations Slow Down? by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 115 Click here to download Commentary
NANNING-SINGAPORE CORRIDOR:A New Vision in China-ASEAN Cooperation by Gu Xiaosong and Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 114 Click here to download Commentary
Obama and McCain: Different visions for Asia by William Tow RSIS Commentaries No. 113 Click here to download Commentary
RIVALRY FOR POLITICAL CHANGE IN THAILAND by Tan Seng Chye RSIS Commentaries No. 112 Click here to download Commentary
RUSSIAN ARMS SALES: The Other Story behind Somalia’s Piracy by Collin Koh and Ron Matthews RSIS Commentaries No. 111 Click here to download Commentary
THE CONFRONTATION GAME: “New Politics” and brinkmanship in Thailand by Marc Askew RSIS Commentaries No. 110 Click here to download Commentary
FOREIGN WORKERS IN SINGAPORE:Integrating or Segregating them? by Yolanda Chin RSIS Commentaries No. 109 Click here to download Commentary
Abu Bakar Bashir: Jihad or Tyranny of Leadership? by Muhammad Haniff Hassan & Mohamed Redzuan Salleh RSIS Commentaries No. 108 Click here to download Commentary
Security At Sea:Can Anything Be Done At The Somali Coast? by Jane Chan and Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 107 Click here to download Commentary
The “Paulson Plan” and its Implications by Raymond Woo Weng Pong RSIS Commentaries No. 106 Click here to download Commentary
The Global Financial Crisis: Does the State Matter? by Nhina Le Thi Minh Huong RSIS Commentaries No. 105 Click here to download Commentary
September
Russia And The Return Of History by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 104 Click here to download Commentary
The Saf’s New Clothes: Recognising the Importance of Personal Equipment in the SAF by Ho Shu Huang RSIS Commentaries No. 103 Click here to download Commentary
Transforming the Singapore Armed Forces:
Matching technological prowess with organizational change by Adrian W. J. Kuah and Bernard Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 102 Click here to download Commentary
Energy Security in Singapore: Challenges and Opportunities by Chang Youngho and Nur Azha Putra RSIS Commentaries No. 101 Click here to download Commentary
De-Radicalisation Programmes:
Changing Minds? by Mohamed Bin Ali RSIS Commentaries No. 100 Click here to download Commentary
F1: One Formula to Bolster the Singaporean Nation by Joanna Phua RSIS Commentaries No. 99 Click here to download Commentary
Will Anwar Take Over? The Flux behind September 16 by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 98 Click here to download Commentary
Recovering Trade After A Terrorist Attack: The Apec Way by Joshua Ho RSIS Commentaries No. 97 Click here to download Commentary
Karachi: In the Sights of the Pakistani Taliban by Ryan Clarke RSIS Commentaries No. 96 Click here to download Commentary
Caucasus: Winning the Shooting War, Losing the Media Battle by Ong Wei Chong RSIS Commentaries No. 95 Click here to download Commentary
Competition Among Major Ports In Southeast Asia by Jasmine Siu Lee LAM & Wei Yim YAP RSIS Commentaries No. 94 Click here to download Commentary
The Hollow Jihad: The Unrestricted Nature Of Al-Qaeda’s War by Muhammad Haniff Hassan & Mohamed Redzuan Salleh RSIS Commentaries No. 93 Click here to download Commentary
August
Whither Civil Society in Thailand? by Antonio L Rappa RSIS Commentaries No. 92 Click here to download Commentary
Vigilance and Countering Fatigue in a Security Agency: The French Experience by Jean Francois Clair RSIS Commentaries No. 91 Click here to download Commentary
Climate, Food, and the New North-South Divide by Rajesh M. Basrur RSIS Commentaries No. 90 Click here to download Commentary
Musharraf’s Resignation: Impact on Pakistan’s role in the war on terror by Saifullah Khan Mahsud RSIS Commentaries No. 89 Click here to download Commentary
Abu Bakar Bashir Resigns from the Indonesian Mujahidin Council: What Now? by V. Arianti and Fatima Astuti RSIS Commentaries No. 88 Click here to download Commentary
Showdown in the Caucasus by Samuel Chan RSIS Commentaries No. 87 Click here to download Commentary
Crsis in the Caucasus: What can we learn from it? by Ho Shu Huang RSIS Commentaries No. 86 Click here to download Commentary
Non-Voters and Local Elections in Indonesia: A Growing Trend? by Evan A. Laksmana and Hazelia Margaretha RSIS Commentaries No. 85 Click here to download Commentary
The Volatility of Nuclear Politics in the Middle East by Jesmeen Khan RSIS Commentaries No. 84 Click here to download Commentary
Mind your Language: Immigration, English and the Social Fabric by Norman Vasu and Joanna Phua RSIS Commentaries No. 83 Click here to download Commentary
China, Japan, South Korea: Time for Trilateralism? by Do Thi Thuy RSIS Commentaries No. 82 Click here to download Commentary
July
The U.S. Maritime Strategy: A Cooperative Strategy For 21st Century Seapower by Joshua Ho RSIS Commentaries No. 81 Click here to download Commentary
That Million-Dollar MSK Bounty: Some Pointers from the Past by Kumar Ramakrishna RSIS Commentaries No. 80 Click here to download Commentary
Risks and Rewards: Can a Million Dollars Help Capture MSK? by Rebecca Givner-Forbes RSIS Commentaries No. 79 Click here to download Commentary
Lessons from the Foiled Terrorist Attack in Palembang by Fatima Astuti RSIS Commentaries No. 78 Click here to download Commentary
Is The Asean Charter Necessary? by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 77 Click here to download Commentary
China and Vietnam: From ‘friendly neighbours’ to ‘comprehensive partners’ by Do Thi Thuy RSIS Commentaries No. 76 Click here to download Commentary
Tensions In Papua: The Melanesian Dimension by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 75 Click here to download Commentary
Fighting Online Extremism: Tackling Old Challenges in the Internet Age by Shiran Ali RSIS Commentaries No. 74 Click here to download Commentary
June
Indonesia: From Energy Security to Social Security by Alvin Chew RSIS Commentaries No. 73 Click here to download Commentary
Asean’s Human Rights Body: Lessons From Helsinki by Tan See Seng RSIS Commentaries No. 72 Click here to download Commentary
Why War is Unlikely in Asia by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 71 Click here to download Commentary
Indonesia’s Police Force: Decentralisation for Better Welfare? by Muradi RSIS Commentaries No. 70 Click here to download Commentary
Combating Piracy And Armed Robbery In Asia: Boosting Recaap’s Role by Joshua Ho RSIS Commentaries No. 69 Click here to download Commentary
Making a Comeback? Aircraft Carriers in the Asia-Pacific by Richard A. Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 68 Click here to download Commentary
The Surprise Verdict: The Proscription of Jemaah Islamiyah by Nurfarahislinda M Ismail, V. Arianti & Jennifer Yang Hui RSIS Commentaries No. 67 Click here to download Commentary
China’s Growing Military Transparency: the Domestic Factor by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 66 Click here to download Commentary
Responding to the tragedy of military training-related death by Bernard Fook Weng Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 65 Click here to download Commentary
Fallout from Jakarta’s Monas Incident: What is to be done with fringe groups? by Fatima Astuti RSIS Commentaries No. 64 Click here to download Commentary
Dealing with Bombs in Rural Exeter: Global Threat, Local Response by Ong Weichong RSIS Commentaries No. 63 Click here to download Commentary
May
Online “Curriculum” of Jihad: Four Broad Themes by Muhammad Haniff Hassan RSIS Commentaries No. 62 Click here to download Commentary
Ahmadiyahs in Indonesia:
Between Sensitivity and Diversity by Mohamed Nawab Bin Mohamed Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 61 Click here to download Commentary
The Myanmar Nargis Aftermath: A Disaster in Governance by Nyi Nyi Kyaw RSIS Commentaries No. 60 Click here to download Commentary
Crisis in Myanmar and the Responsibility to Protect by Hannah Ruth Chia RSIS Commentaries No. 59 Click here to download Commentary
China’s Soft Power: Stuck in Transition by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 58 Click here to download Commentary
Steel Sharks: China’s Growing Submarine Fleet by Loro Horta and Ong Weichong RSIS Commentaries No. 57 Click here to download Commentary
The Australia 2020 Summit – Few New Ideas but Moving Australia to the Left by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 56 Click here to download Commentary
April
Remoulding of Indonesian Defence Capability by Curie Maharani and Ron Matthews RSIS Commentaries No. 55 Click here to download Commentary
PKS Against the Rest: The Justice and Prosperity Party and the 2007 Jakarta Elections by Mark Woodward RSIS Commentaries No. 54 Click here to download Commentary
Managing Food Fights from Food Rights in ASEAN by Mely Caballero-Anthony, Sofiah Jamil & Irene Kuntjoro RSIS Commentaries No. 53 Click here to download Commentary
The Shariah and Muslim Societies by Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 52 Click here to download Commentary
Midlife Crisis of the Philippine Red Movement by Ava Patricia C. Avila RSIS Commentaries No. 51 Click here to download Commentary
Saudi Arabia: Between Radicalisation and Terrorism by Nidaa Abu-Ali RSIS Commentaries No. 50 Click here to download Commentary
An Explanation for Singapore’s Innovation Gap by Richard W. Carney and Loh Yi Zheng RSIS Commentaries No. 49 Click here to download Commentary
Malaysian Lessons for Singapore? by Hoo Tiang Boon, Kumar Ramakrishna and Norman Vasu RSIS Commentaries No. 48 Click here to download Commentary
The US Push for a Northeast Asia Forum: Three Ramifications for East Asian Regionalism by Tan See Seng RSIS Commentaries No. 47 Click here to download Commentary
Bangladesh: A fragmenting nation? by Sujoyini Mandal and Shafqat Munir RSIS Commentaries No. 46 Click here to download Commentary
The SAF and the Dangers of Uruzgan by Samuel Chan RSIS Commentaries No. 45 Click here to download Commentary
Tightening the security cordon to capture Mas Selamat: The need for Preventive Surveillance by Eric Frécon and Leonard C. Sebastian RSIS Commentaries No. 44 Click here to download Commentary
Arms, Money, and Security: Southeast Asia’s Growing Importance as an Arms Market by Richard A. Bitzinger and Curie Maharani RSIS Commentaries No. 43 Click here to download Commentary
All Politics is Local: Al-Qaeda’s Strategic Failure in Iraq by John Harrison RSIS Commentaries No. 42 Click here to download Commentary
March
Taiwan Strait Relations: How Far Can It Go? by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 41 Click here to download Commentary
Fundamental Change in Taiwan Politics by Arthur S. Ding RSIS Commentaries No. 40 Click here to download Commentary
The Nuclear Disarmament Bandwagon: Time for New Thinking? by Rajesh M. Basrur RSIS Commentaries No. 39 Click here to download Commentary
Repositioning US Engagement in Southeast Asia: A Case for Non-traditional Security by Mely Caballero-Anthony RSIS Commentaries No. 38 Click here to download Commentary
South America’s Emerging Arms Race: Big Power Links? by Loro Horta RSIS Commentaries No. 37 Click here to download Commentary
Myanmar’s Shan State: The Faint Signal of Volatility by Ryan Clarke RSIS Commentaries No. 36 Click here to download Commentary
The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium – Will the Navies of the Indian Ocean Region unite? by Sam Bateman RSIS Commentaries No. 35 Click here to download Commentary
Reforming PAS: From Islamism to Post-Islamism by Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 34 Click here to download Commentary
Malaysian Politics: Where To After The Electoral Shock? by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 33 Click here to download Commentary
Security, Safety, and Defence: Food for Thought by Gregory Dalziel and Ng Sue Chia RSIS Commentaries No. 32 Click here to download Commentary
Is the PLA Really on the March? Critiquing the Pentagon’s Latest Report on Chinese Military Power by Richard A. Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 31 Click here to download Commentary
Assessing Military Power by Bernard Fook Weng Loo RSIS Commentaries No. 30 Click here to download Commentary
The Emerging TNI elite: Impact of Recent Reshuffles by Leonard C. Sebastian & Andi Widjajanto RSIS Commentaries No. 29 Click here to download Commentary
Race and Religion in the 2008 Malaysian General Elections by Shahirah Mahmood and Mohamed Nawab Mohd Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 28 Click here to download Commentary
NATO in Afghanistan: All for one but anyone for all? by Samuel Chan RSIS Commentaries No. 27 Click here to download Commentary
Afghanistan and Peace-Building: Where to After Ashdown? by Greg Mills & Dominic Medley RSIS Commentaries No. 26 Click here to download Commentary
Politics, Pluralism And The Polls: A Changing Scenario? by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 25 Click here to download Commentary
Mas Selamat Kastari’s Disappearing Act: Assessing the Fallout by Hoo Tiang Boon and Kumar Ramakrishna RSIS Commentaries No. 24 Click here to download Commentary
February
Importance of Partnership in Countering the Financing of Terrorism by Gunawan Husin RSIS Commentaries No. 23 Click here to download Commentary
Time for a Pan-Asian Missile Shield? by Richard A. Bitzinger RSIS Commentaries No. 22 Click here to download Commentary
Drivers of Suicide Terrorism in Pakistan by Khuram Iqbal RSIS Commentaries No. 21 Click here to download Commentary
The Significance of the Elections in Pakistan by Hekmat Karzai RSIS Commentaries No. 20 Click here to download Commentary
Trends in Airpower Modernisation in the Asia-Pacific Region by Barry Desker RSIS Commentaries No. 19 Click here to download Commentary
Assassination attempts in Timor-Leste: Tragedy of a Young Nation by Loro Horta RSIS Commentaries No. 18 Click here to download Commentary
Countering Self-Radicalisation by Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman RSIS Commentaries No. 17 Click here to download Commentary
Communicating Counter-Ideology by Muhammad Haniff Hassan RSIS Commentaries No. 16 Click here to download Commentary
Ship Security Alert System: A failed effort to protect coastal communities by Thomas Timlen RSIS Commentaries No. 15 Click here to download Commentary
Advanced Fighter Purchase: Heralding Thai Military Modernisation Programme? by Ron Matthews and Curie Maharani RSIS Commentaries No. 14 Click here to download Commentary
Singapore and the Middle East: Launching the Second Wave by Yang Razali Kassim and Bouchaib Silm RSIS Commentaries No. 13 Click here to download Commentary
Rohingya Muslims:Myanmar’s Forgotten People by Nyi Nyi Kyaw RSIS Commentaries No. 12 Click here to download Commentary
Self-Radicalisation and National Security: New Threat, New Response by Norman Vasu and Yolanda Chin RSIS Commentaries No. 11 Click here to download Commentary
January
SUHARTO: THE END OF AN ASEAN ERA by Yang Razali Kassim RSIS Commentaries No. 10 Click here to download Commentary
Southern Philippines:The Way Forward for Stalled Peace by Taharudin Piang Ampatuan RSIS Commentaries No. 9 Click here to download Commentary
The changing nature of Chinese business in Africa:The case of Cape Verde by Loro Horta RSIS Commentaries No. 8 Click here to download Commentary
Taiwan: After the Landslide Victory by Arthur Ding RSIS Commentaries No. 7 Click here to download Commentary
UPDATE: SINGAPORE’S COMMUNITY-BASED COUNTER-IDEOLOGY INITIATIVES by Muhammad Haniff Hassan RSIS Commentaries No. 6 Click here to download Commentary
Pan-Tonkin Gulf Cooperation:De-securitising the South China Sea by Li Mingjiang RSIS Commentaries No. 5 Click here to download Commentary
PAKISTAN AND BENAZIR:The Way Forward by Mohd Nawab RSIS Commentaries No. 4 Click here to download Commentary
Bhutto’s Assassination and its Aftermath by Saifullah Khan Mahsud RSIS Commentaries No. 3 Click here to download Commentary
Terrorism Threat in 2008 by Rohan Gunaratna RSIS Commentaries No. 2 Click here to download Commentary
The Chinese Navy:Expanding Capabilities, Evolving Roles? by Arthur Ding RSIS Commentaries No. 1 Click here to download Commentary
