The threat of fragmentation looms. Fuelled in no small part by intensified US-China tensions, current anxieties have focused especially on multilateral institutions which have provided venues for cooperation and friction mediation. In Asia, where US-China competition has been playing out most acutely, Washington’s and Beijing’s pursuit of alternative US- and China-centric frameworks and minilateral frameworks are widely seen as primary expressions of fragmenting pressures and effects, as well as a particular threat to ASEAN as a hub of institutional activity, platform for small power agency, and symbol of a more inclusive order.
In this talk, Professor Alice D. Ba will assess the state of institutional play with attention to Asia compared to global patterns of institutional activity, as well as the effects of such activity on regional stability. In addition to highlighting a complex mix of strategic and normative institutional logics that suggest fragmentation, she will also identify potential sources of resilience that may offset more destabilising dynamics.
This event 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.
About the speaker
Professor Alice D. Ba
Emma Smith Morris Professor, University of Delaware
Alice D. Ba is Emma Smith Morris Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations. She has published widely on the international relations of East and Southeast Asia, the structures and processes of regionalism, and Southeast Asia’s relations with China and the United States. Recent publications have addressed the role of strategic narratives, the systemic effects of multilateralism and domestic change in Asia, ASEAN’s legitimation strategies and challenges, and the interplay between institutional frameworks in Asia. She is also the author of (Re)Negotiating East and Southeast Asia: Region, Regionalism, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Stanford 2009) and received US Fulbright awards for work in Beijing and Singapore. At the University of Delaware, she served as Director of Asian Studies from 2009-2014 and Acting Chair of the Department from 2023-2024.
About the moderator
Associate Professor Chin-Hao Huang
Associate Professor of Social Sciences (Political Science), and Head of Studies, Global Affairs, Yale-NUS College
Chin-Hao Huang is Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore, with appointments in both the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Yale-NUS College. He serves as co-chair of the International Affairs programme at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and is also the Head of Studies for Global Affairs at Yale-NUS. He is the author of three books, including, most recently, Power and Restraint in China’s Rise (Columbia, 2022), which received Honorable Mention for the T.V. Paul Best Book in Global International Relations. His research has been published in leading disciplinary journals such as International Organization, Perspectives on Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, and The China Quarterly among others and he has testified on China’s foreign and security policy before the US Congress. He has also served as a consultant for US and European foundations, governments, and companies on their strategies and policies in Asia. His work has been featured in media outlets such as BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC Asia, Financial Times, and TIME. He received his B.S. with honours from Georgetown University and PhD in political science from the University of Southern California.
