The United States-China strategic competition is often seen as a rivalry confined to the two great powers in which secondary states do not have much influence. The calls for secondary states to “choose sides” are undertaken with limited understanding of how domestic processes in secondary states shape the choices they make. As much as electoral cycles, leadership changes, and domestic politics in the US and China affect their policies towards each other, elections and domestic factors also influence how secondary states respond to the US-China rivalry.

This conference focuses on how domestic politics shape the foreign policy of Southeast Asian countries, particularly how they position themselves between the US and China. Southeast Asian countries are undergoing elections in the next few years, and a new generation of leaders and political parties are poised to take over. The Philippines appointed a new president, Ferdinand Marcos, in 2022. In 2023, Thailand faces calls for fresh elections. In Cambodia, Hun Manet, has been designated to succeed his father, Hun Sen. Indonesia and Singapore will also see election cycles in 2024-2025, ushering in new leaders to succeed Joko Widodo and Lee Hsien Loong. How will the sea change in domestic politics shape the foreign policy of these countries with respect to the US and China? This conference examines the variables of domestic politics, political institutions, and leadership in shaping the foreign policy choices of secondary states and their implications for US-China relations in the region.

This conference is organised by Yale-NUS College, in partnership with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, and supported by the Tan Chin Tuan Chinese Culture & Civilisation Programme.

Keynote Addresses

Professor Khong Yuen Foong, Li Ka Shing Professor in Political Science, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Mr Ryan Hass, Senior Fellow and Michael H. Armacost Chair, Brookings Institution; Nonresident Fellow, Yale Law School

Paper Authors

Dr Adhi Priamarizki, Research Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University

Professor Dr Kuik Cheng-Chwee, Professor in International Relations, National University of Malaysia (UKM)

Assistant Professor Pongphisoot Busbarat, Director, Institute of Security and International Studies, and Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Mr Raymund Joe Quilop, Former Associate Professor of Political Science, University of the Philippines

Dr Soulatha Sayalath, Independent Researcher

Associate Professor Terence Lee, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore

Discussants

Professor Alice D. Ba, Professor of Political Science & International Relations, University of Delaware

Professor Arne Westad, Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs, Yale University

Associate Professor Chin-Hao Huang, Associate Professor of Social Sciences (Political Science), Yale-NUS College

Mr David Rank, Senior Fellow, Yale University, Jackson School of Global Affairs

Professor Mely Caballero-Anthony, Professor of International Relations Associate Dean (International Engagement);
Head of Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies; President’s Chair in International Relations and Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University

Dr Ronan Tse-Min Fu, Assistant Research Fellow of the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica

Dr Selina Ho, Co-Director of Centre on Asia and Globalisation and Assistant Professor,
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Click here for the programme, speaker bios, and keynote and paper abstracts

Watch the keynote addresses and panel discussions here: