China’s Rise as a Norm Entrepreneur and Implications for Southeast Asia
REGIONAL STRATEGIC AND POLITICAL STUDIES PROGRAMME
About the Webinar
China is actively projecting its discourse power and normative influence towards the Global South, including in Southeast Asia. When China proposed a ‘Community of Shared Destiny for Mankind’ a decade ago, it was dismissed by many as just nice-sounding rhetoric. But with the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) – buttressed by Chinese economic influence globally – an alternative architecture of global governance with Chinese characteristics is taking shape and competes with the post-Cold War liberal international order. Together, these initiatives systematically project the Chinese narratives about global governance, and attract people to the Chinese way of thinking about the world – be it about development, modernisation, security, democracy and human rights. This webinar will unpack the Chinese characteristics inherent in the GDI, GSI and GCI, how they complement and reinforce each other, their corrosive effect to the liberal international order, their traction in the Global South, and the implications for Southeast Asian countries.
About the Speakers
Manoj Kewalramani is the Chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Research Programme and a Fellow in China studies at the Takshashila Institution, a leading Indian public policy education center. He is also a Senior Associate, Freeman Chair in China Studies, with the Center for Strategic and International. Studies in Washington D.C. His research interests include Chinese politics, foreign policy, approaches to new technologies, and addressing questions of how India can work with like-minded partners to deal with the challenges presented by China’s rise. Manoj is the author of Smokeless War: China’s Quest for Geopolitical Dominance (Bloomsbury India, 2021), which discusses China’s political, diplomatic, economic, and narrative responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He also writes a daily newsletter analysing news coverage and discourse in the People’s Daily. Prior to joining Takshashila, Manoj spent over a decade working as a journalist in India and China, where he also helped set up digital newsrooms and train young journalists.
Li Mingjiang is an Associate Professor and Provost’s Chair in International Relations at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He is also the Coordinator of the PhD Program at RSIS. He serves as a member of the Steering Committee and Chair of the Academic Governance Committee of NTU Senate. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston University. His main research interests include Chinese foreign policy, Chinese economic statecraft, the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese politics, China-ASEAN relations, Sino-U.S. relations, and Asia-Pacific security. He is the author (including editor and co-editor) of 15 books. His recent books are China’s Economic Statecraft (World Scientific, 2017) and New Dynamics in US-China Relations: Contending for the Asia Pacific (lead editor, Routledge, 2014). He has published papers in various peer-reviewed journals.
Registration
This webinar will be delivered online entirely. You can join the webinar at the specified date and time using devices (computer, phone, or tablet) with internet connection.
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If you have questions for the speaker, please key in your questions via the Q&A, stating your name and affiliation. The moderator will field them to the speakers during the Q&A session.