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.
Contemporary
Islam Programme (CIP)
The Contemporary Islam Programme (CIP) is coordinated by Dr Joseph Liow. The
Programme launched a major, multi-country research project in the middle of 2006.
The on-going project is titled Muslim Identities and Societies in Southeast Asia:
Attitudes, Perceptions, and Socio-political Structures. It covers Indonesia (Sumatra,
Java and Sulawesi), Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The objective of
the project is to examine how Muslim religious beliefs influence Muslim political
attitudes and vice versa, in terms of the status of Islam as a cultural identity-marker,
its function as an instrument for granting political legitimacy, its role as
a rallying point for individual and collective empowerment, or its impact on
a country’s domestic and foreign policy. The findings of the project will
take the form of short reports on individual countries as well as a longer, consolidated
project report in March 2007.
Aside from this
major research project, the CIP has been
active in public education on Islam and
its various aspects in the context of
modern, plural societies. Public education
has taken the form of a major academic
conference titled “Progressive
Islam and the State in Contemporary Muslim
Societies”, as well as organising
and facilitating of a range of talks,
seminars, and short courses conducted
by well-known scholars of Islam. These
include Professor Wael Hallaq, Professor
Ibrahim Abu-Rabi, Professor Giles Keppel,
Dr Karim Douglas Crow, and Professor
Mohammad Ayoob.
Members and associates
of the CIP have also been conducting
extensive research into a wide range
of topics. These include Shia Islam in
Southeast Asia, political Islam in Malaysia
and Indonesia, and the role of the Ulama
in Malaysian society. They have also
been active in producing shorter op-ed
pieces which are accessible to the public.
From March-November 2006 alone, the CIP
produced 15 RSIS Commentaries and seven
op-ed pieces in the print media. Members
of the CIP have also been active internationally
in research on issues of Islam in Southeast
Asia. CIP Coordinator, Dr Joseph Liow,
is part of a research team headed by
Professor Robert W. Hefner that is examining
Islamic education across Southeast Asia,
while other programme associates have
been invited regularly to present findings
and research on Islam in Southeast Asia
at various international conferences.
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
