Lecture Abstract

28th July 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI, when Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia spiralled outwardly from Balkan crisis to global conflagration — the first great catastrophe of the twentieth century that ruptured the international order of empires and states. As part of its efforts to bring the study of strategic studies and military affairs to the public and to engage with peers in academia, the Military Studies Programme is pleased to present a panel discussion on World War I (WWI). Drawing from the intellectual capital of the MSP, the panel will consist of experts in the areas of military history and strategic studies to share their views on the impact of WWI, especially its impact and implications to the region. Asst Prof Emrys Chew will be speaking on Great War, Global DisOrientation 1914-1941: Nationalism, Modernity and the Limits of Empire in Asia. Assoc Prof Bernard Loo will be speaking on The Impact of WW I on Doctrinal Matters that continue to affect military organisations in the Asia-Pacific Today. Finally, Asst Prof Ong Wei Chong will bring the discussion to a culmination by highlighting the Analogies at War: Will 2014 Rhyme with 1914? The Military Studies Programme would be pleased to have your participation.

About the Speakers:

Emrys Chew is an Assistant Professor in the Military Studies Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, where he also serves as Coordinator of the MSc (Asian Studies) and Coordinator of Research Assistants. From the University of Cambridge, he obtained both a BA with First Class Honours in History (1995) and a PhD (2002). His BA dissertation, a study entitled ‘The Naning War, 1831-1832: Colonial Authority and Malay Resistance in the Early Period of British Expansion’, was awarded the Alan Coulson Prize for Imperial and Commonwealth History and subsequently published (Modern Asian Studies, May 1998). He is the author of Arming the Periphery: The Arms Trade in the Indian Ocean during the Age of Global Empire (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). Among his edited works are Goh Keng Swee: A Legacy of Public Service (Singapore: World Scientific; S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2012) and Globalization and Defence in the Asia-Pacific: Arms Across Asia (Routledge, 2009).

Bernard F.W. Loo is an Associate Professor and concurrently the Coordinator of the MSc (Strategic Studies). at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He completed his doctoral studies at the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2002. He is the author of Medium Powers and Accidental Wars: A study in Conventional Strategic Stability (Edwin Mellen, 2005), and the editor of Military Transformation and Operations (Routledge, 2009). His other publications have appeared in the Journal of Strategic Studies, Contemporary Southeast Asia, NIDS Security Reports, and Taiwan Defense Affairs.

Ong Wei Chong is an Assistant Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He is attached to the Military Studies Programme at the school’s constituent unit, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) where he is coordinator of the Asia Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO). Weichong completed his doctoral studies with the Centre for the Study of War, State and Society, University of Exeter, UK in 2010 where he was a recipient of research grants from the University of Exeter and the Royal Historical Society. He is also Course Director of the Campaign and War Studies (CWS) and Operations Other than War (OOTW) modules at the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College (GKS CSC), Singapore. He has also taught at the advanced school and officer cadet school levels at SAFTI Military Institute, Singapore. In national service, Weichong is a Functional Specialist Support Staff Officer (Army) with the Singapore Armed Forces. In addition, he was an Affiliated Researcher with the Department of Leadership and Management, Swedish National Defence College and a Guest Professor at the Ecole Navale, France.

Organised by Military Studies Programme, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.