Manoj Harjani is a Research Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), where he is also Coordinator of the Military Transformations Programme (MTP) within the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies. Prior to joining MTP, Manoj worked on building up RSIS’ research agenda and networks at the intersection of science, technology, and national security. Manoj has also served in roles focusing on analysing long-term trends and building capabilities in futures thinking and scenario planning with the Singapore Public Service. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the National University of Singapore.

• Regulation and governance of critical and emerging technologies (e.g., 5G/6G, AI, chips, quantum technologies)
• Economic dimensions of national security (e.g., investment screening, export controls, sanctions, standards, supply chain security)
• Futures thinking and scenario planning

Commemorative / Event Reports

• Navigating Uncertainty: Arms Control in an Age of Disruptive Technologies

  23 January, 2025

IDSS Papers

• IP26056 | International Regulation of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: Divergence and the Way Forward

  30 March, 2026

• IP26032 | Southeast Asia’s Rising Quantum Ecosystem: Implications for Singapore

  02 March, 2026

• IP26029 | The Uncertain Future of the REAIM Summit

  26 February, 2026

• IP26002 | Global Governance of the AI–Nuclear Nexus: Unpacking UNGA Resolution 80/23

  07 January, 2026

• IP25101 | AI, NC3 and the Future of Strategic Stability in the Trump 2.0 Era

  27 October, 2025

• IP25069 | Singapore’s National Quantum Strategy Turns One

  30 June, 2025

• IP25006 | The REAIM “Blueprint for Action” Needs Skin in the Game

  16 January, 2025

• IP25004 | Military AI Governance in 2024: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

  10 January, 2025

• IP24062 | AUKUS Pillar II: Shaping Regional Strategic Stability

  31 July, 2024

• IP24050 | Parsing the Inaugural China-US AI Talks

  21 May, 2024

• IP23089 | “Unhackable” Quantum Communication is a Myth

  15 December, 2023

• IP23078 | Adversarial Attacks: An Existential Threat to AI

  07 November, 2023

• IP23067 | China’s Chip Industry: Down, But Not Out?

  19 September, 2023

• IP23041 | Is an AUKUS Expansion on the Cards?

  24 May, 2023

• IP23015 | Domestic Politics and the US-China Chip War

  15 February, 2023

• IP22045 | Will Quantum Supply Chains Fall Victim to Geopolitics?

  18 August, 2022

Working Papers

• Institutional Challenges for China's Chip Industry

  18 April, 2024

Policy Reports

• Applying Antifragility to Policymaking

  19 March, 2024

RSIS Commentary Series

• What’s Next for 5G in Southeast Asia?

  07 November, 2023

• From 5G to 6G: India’s Push for Next-Generation Networks

  19 July, 2023

• Rethinking the ‘Quantum Apocalypse’

  20 May, 2022

• The Paradox of Scaling AI: New Age or Future Winter?

  14 December, 2021

• Singapore’s AI ‘Living Lab’: Safety Rules Essential

  28 September, 2021

• Facial Recognition: More Peril than Promise?

  10 February, 2021

• Smart Nation: Privacy Protection and Public Trust

  02 February, 2021

• Artificial Intelligence: Sustaining Singapore’s AI Ambitions

  24 November, 2020

• Between Byte and Bark: Singapore, US & Chinese Tech

  16 October, 2020

• 5G and Techno-Nationalism: Choosing Sides?

  17 July, 2020

• Early Warning Systems: Stumbling Blocks Post-Pandemic

  16 June, 2020

Journal Articles

• “The institutional challenge for China’s semiconductor chip industry” in Asia Policy , Vol. 19, No. 1 , 2024
• “Singapore’s sanctions against Russia: What are the long-term implications?” in Pacific Forum, Issues and Insights Vol. 22, Special Report No. 5, 2022, p7-11
• “We are all stakeholders in an AI-supplemented world: Sino-US rivalry and the management of a globally transformative technology” (with Basil C. Bitas) in We are all stakeholders in an AI-supplemented world: Sino-US rivalry and the management of a globally transformative technology, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2020. pp. 2050014-1-27

Op-Eds

• “Are US export controls making China’s chip industry more innovative?”, The Interpreter, 22 April 2024
• “What’s next for 5G in Southeast Asia?”, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 30 October 2023
• “Are India’s 6G ambitions realistic?”, Takshashila Institution, 12 July 2023
• “Will quantum supply chains fall victim to geopolitics?” (with Shantanu Sharma), The Straits Times, 22 August 2022
• “US–China economic competition rests on intellectual property” (with Hannah Sworn), East Asia Forum, 29 June 2022
• “Indigenous 6G: Can India pull it off?”, 360info, 16 May 2022
• “Can an Antifragile Mindset Help Reframe the China-US Tech Rivalry?” (with Tan Ming Hui), The Diplomat, 27 April 2022
• “Endemic COVID-19: Can S-E Asia stay on track despite Omicron?” (with Tan Ming Hui), The Straits Times, 24 December 2021
• “Is the EU’s AI legislation a good fit for ASEAN?”, East Asia Forum, 14 July 2021
• “Is Southeast Asia Ready for a US-China Tech Decoupling?”, The Interpreter, 31 May 2021
• “The COVID-19 Endgame: Does Southeast Asia Need More Than Resilience?” (with Tan Ming Hui), The Diplomat, 31 March 2021
• “Between Byte and Bark — Singapore, US and Chinese Tech” (with Shashi Jayakumar), TODAY, 22 October 2020
• “Choosing sides? 5G and techno-nationalism” (with Shashi Jayakumar), The Straits Times, 8 July 2020

• Speaker, The Future in Quantum: What’s Next? 5 December 2022.
• Speaker, “Quantum Supply Chains: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?” Quantum-Safe Cybersecurity from Hype to Reality, 28 November 2022.
• Discussant, China-US-Asia Dialogue 2022, Session 3: Decoupling or Recoupling (virtual), 10 November 2022.
• Speaker, U.S.-Singapore Tech & Innovation Virtual Dialogue, Session 5: Considerations for the US-Singapore Digital Economies in the Wake of the Invasion of Ukraine (virtual), 18 April 2022.
• Speaker, “Beyond ‘One Planet, Two Worlds’: Southeast Asian Responses to US-China Rivalry over 5G Network Infrastructure,” Association of International Studies and Regional Development (Japan) 11th Annual Conference (virtual), 11 December 2021.
• Speaker, “Unpacking the ‘Tech Decoupling’ in Southeast Asia,” Australian National University Geoeconomics Working Group Seminar (virtual), 7 October 2021.