Manoj Harjani is a Research Fellow in the Military Transformations Programme (MTP) within the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. Prior to joining MTP, Manoj was part of the Future Issues and Technology research cluster at RSIS, where he worked on building up the school’s research agenda and networks at the intersection of science, technology, and national security.

Manoj began his career in the Singapore Public Service, with stints at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Centre for Strategic Futures, where he held roles focusing on analysing long-term trends and building up public sector capabilities in futures thinking and scenario planning. He was also part of a team at the Public Service Division under the Prime Minister’s Office which led an initiative to build the public sector workforce’s digital capabilities.

Manoj 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

Commentaries

• 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

• Global Health Security: COVID-19 and Its Impacts - Early Warning Systems: Stumbling Blocks Post-Pandemic

  16 June, 2020

IDSS Paper

• 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

Journal Articles

• “Issues & Insights Vol. 22, SR5 – US-Singapore: Advancing Technological Collaboration and Innovation in Southeast Asia” in Pacific Forum, Vol. 22, SR 5, 2022, p5-15
• “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 China and the World, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2020. Online

Op-Eds

• “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.