IDSS research also includes studies of
countries that could have an impact on
regional security and stability through
their domestic developments and foreign
policies. Such work is currently being
done through the China Programme, Indonesia
Programme and United States Programme.
China
Programme
The China Programme, coordinated by
Dr. Shiping Tang, is broadly interested
in
all aspects of China’s strategic
thinking and behaviour. Our staff provided
a distinctive regional voice on the
issue of the role of China as a rising
power.
The Programme focused on the following
sub-fields:
-
The evolution of China’s strategic
thinking and behaviour and the main drivers
behind the evolutionary process;
-
How
domestic politics, such as civil-military
relations, interest
groups, and elite politics, influence
China’s strategic thinking
and behaviour;
-
How CBMs and other cooperative initiatives
between China and regional states have
impacted China’s strategic thinking
and behaviour, and consequently, regional
states’ perceptions and behaviour
toward China;
-
How regional institutions (e.g., ASEAN
Regional Forum, ASEAN+3, and now the East
Asian Summit) have shaped China’s
strategic thinking and behaviour and, consequently,
regional states’ perceptions and
behaviour toward China;
-
How regional states have perceived and
reacted to China’s strategic thinking
and behaviour;
-
The military dimension of China’s
strategic thinking and behaviour, from
operational, tactical, and strategic levels;
-
China’s strategic thinking and behaviour
in areas of immediate concern such as counter-terrorism,
maritime security, and Taiwan;
-
The US-China and Japan-China relationship
and their implications for the region and
regional states.
The
Programme’s flagship project
in 2006 aimed at studying the dynamic interaction
between China and other regional states
through an empirical approach, by looking
at specific cases of crises and turning
points in the interactive process between
China and other regional states. In addition
to the main project, the China Programme
invited Major-General Zhu Chenghu, Professor
and Commandant of the School of Defense
Studies of the National Defense University,
People’s Liberation Army, China,
to IDSS from 20-27 August. Maj. Gen. Zhu
gave two talks, one on the training of
Chinese military officers and another on
the modernization of the People’s
Liberation
Army.
His
visit
was
well
received
by
both
IDSS
and
the
National
Defense
University.
Major
publications
by
Programme
staff
include Tang
Shiping, “Projecting China’s
Foreign Policy: Determining Factors and
Scenarios,” in Jae Ho Chung ed.,
Chart China’s Future (Boulder, C.
O.: Bowman & Littlefield, 2006), and
Li Mingjiang, “China Defends its
Core Interests in a Unipolar World”,
forthcoming,
in
Edward
A.
Kolodziej
and
Roger
E.
Kanet
eds.,
Consensual
or
Coercive
Hegemon:
Either
or
Neither?
American
Power
and
Global
Order.
Indonesia
Programme
The Indonesia Programme coordinated by Associate Professor Leonard Sebastian focuses on three areas. Firstly, to conduct research on issues pertaining to Indonesia that is of relevance to Singapore; secondly, to contribute to the Institute’s Master’s Programmes by offering quality courses; and thirdly, to provide policy reviews and briefings to assist stakeholders and the policy community to better understand the complex changes taking place in post-Suharto Indonesia. At the regional level, the goal is to network and to engage in collaborative research with like-minded international institutions interested in modern Indonesia, specifically, in post-Suharto Indonesia. In 2006, research encompassed a variety of issues including civil-military relations, developments in the defence and security sector, political Islam, militant Islam, terrorism, intra-state conflict, Indonesian foreign policy and international relations, the Indonesian economy, problems of underdevelopment, local politics and decentralization in the Riau region. The Programme’s primary research focus at this time is in five areas: defence and security, national politics, local politics and political economy, Islam, and intra-state conflict.
In May 2006, a study of the Indonesian military by Dr Sebastian entitled Realpolitik Ideology: Indonesia’s Use of Military Force was published by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Ongoing research in 2006 included two book-length studies on Islam in Indonesia, articles on local politics and democratisation, and the regular monitoring of political, economic, security and society-related developments in the Riau Archipelago (KEPRI) and Riau Province. Two monograph-length studies on civil-military relations in the post-Suharto era by Tatik Hafitz and Yuddy Chrisnandi have been completed and a third on Political Islam by Bahtiar Effendy is currently in progress. Professor J. Soedradjad Djiwandono, is currently working on an English language translation of his book Sejarah Bank Indonesia (History of Bank Indonesia) which was published in 2005.
Dr Eric Frecon has been recently appointed as a Post Doctoral Fellow and is currently undertaking research for a book manuscript on piracy focusing on communities in Bangka-Belitung and Riau who have for generations plied their trade as pirates in the Malacca Strait.
Since August 2006, the Programme produces a fortnightly publication entitled the Riau Bulletin. The Riau Bulletin is aimed at providing regular updates for Singapore’s policy and business community on the latest developments in the Riau Archipelago and the Riau province.
The Indonesia Programme also hosted its first Riau Roundtable in June 2007 bringing together policy makers from Riau and Singapore to commemorate the first anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Singapore and Indonesia to establish a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Riau Archipelago. Speakers will analyse:
-
Preparations for establishing the SEZ;
-
-
Understanding questions relating to political,
administrative and fiscal decentralisation;
-
-
-
The nature of infrastructure, natural resources
and environmental issues in the province; and
-
How cultural and educational exchanges
can benefit both Riau and Singapore.
A number of policy-related outputs would be derived from this workshop. A workshop and conference held on 3-4 November 2008 explored the state of Indonesia by examining various political, economic, and social developments that have taken place since the start of the reformasi movement in May 1998 aimed at commemorating 10 years of reformasi and analysing Indonesia’s future trajectory. Entitled “The Future of Indonesia beyond 2014: Prospects and Challenges” The main purpose of this initiative is to offer an alternative future-oriented perspective in looking at Indonesia beyond the 2014 general elections. For the Workshop, twenty emerging leaders and opinion-makers from Indonesia were invited for a closed door meeting where through the use of a future studies framework they explored a variety of scenarios related to Indonesia’s future. The public conference addressed critical challenges and prospects of several key sectors, such as politics, economy, security, judicial, and civil society, which will determine Indonesia’s future in the next twenty to thirty years. More importantly, the conference also aims to provide a platform for potential future leaders and opinion makers in Indonesia to voice their ideas and exchange views with distinguished Indonesian scholars and observers from all over the world. The public conference will be divided into four sessions: first, we will discuss the future of Indonesian national and local politics beyond 2014, second, the future of Indonesian judicial and security sectors beyond 2014, third, the future of Indonesian economy and business sectors beyond 2014, and finally, we will address the future of Indonesian civil society beyond 2014. In each session, there will be 2-3 paper presenters and 2-3 prominent Indonesian scholars and observers as discussants.
Visit our website at http://www.rsis.edu.sg/Indonesia_Prog/
United
States Programme
The
United
States
Programme’s
research
agenda
focuses
on
the
foreign,
military,
and
broad
strategic
policies
of
the
United
States,
especially
since
these
have
impacted
on
or
may
potentially
impact
on
East
Asia.
It
has
also
been
investigating
the
perceptions,
expectations,
and
security
strategies
of
Southeast
Asian
actors
toward
the
United
States
in
the
context
of
a
global
environment
marked
by
the
rise
of
China
and
India,
and
the
threat
posed
by
terrorist
outfits.
Research
has
furthermore
been
undertaken on
US
energy
security
policy
and
maritime
strategy,
and
their
implications
on
Asia,
as
well
as
the
possible
reasons
for
the
revolutionary
impulse
in
the
US
attitudes/approaches
toward
the
international
system.
The
results
of
the
research
have
been
published
as
articles,
commentaries,
and
in
a
policy
report.
In
2006,
IDSS
also
hosted
a
number
of
distinguished
scholars
and
practitioners
from
Asia,
Canada,
Europe,
and
the
United
States
to
seminars
and
talks
in
Singapore.
They
included
Mr
Richard
Lee
Armitage,
former
US
Deputy
Secretary
of
State;
Dr
Gerard
Chaliand,
former
Director,
European
Center
for
the
Study
of
Conflicts;
Dr
Richard
A.
Falkenrath,
Senior
Fellow,
Brookings
Institution,
USA;
Professor
Kal
Holsti,
Institute
of
International
Relations,
University
of
British
Columbia;
Dr
Changhee
Nam,
Associate
Professor,
Inha
University,
Korea;
Lt-Col
Mark
Shankle,
Strategic
Command,
US
Army;
Dr
Ehsan
Ahrari,
Defense
Consultant
and
Independent
Strategic
Analyst;
and
Professor
Stephen
M.
Walt,
Academic
Dean,
John
F.
Kennedy
School
of
Government,
Harvard
University.
These
talks
have
helped
to
advance
the
academic
and
policy
communities’ understanding
of
US
foreign
and
defence
policies,
and
their
impact
on
Asian
security.
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