This book is a collection of speeches presented at Singapore Perspectives 2019 by current players in international relations and leading academics and opinion shapers on how the post-Cold War world order, with emphasis on the relations between the United States and China, will affect small states like Singapore and countries in Southeast Asia — at local, national, and regional levels. It features speeches by prominent personalities, such as Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, former Singapore Foreign Minister Mr George Yeo, and former Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Marty Natalegawa. Each speaker presents a fresh perspective on important developments in the world today.
Ariel Tan is Associate Director at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), where she oversees public communications and strategic planning.
Prior to joining IPS, Ariel was a Foreign Service Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). She worked on Singapore's relations with countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, at MFA HQ. She was First Secretary (Political) at the Embassy of Singapore in Washington DC (2001–2005) and Deputy High Commissioner of Singapore in Kuala Lumpur (2011–2015).
Ariel was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) or Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Gangsa), a Singapore National Day award, in 2013.
Ariel graduated from the National University of Singapore with a BA (Honours) in English Literature. She holds a Master in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, where she was also a Mason Fellow.
Rachel Hau is Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies. She graduated from Yale-NUS College with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), majoring in history, and minoring in literature. Rachel provides research and administrative support for IPS' S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore. She is also closely involved in supporting the public communications work of IPS.
Her research interests include the historical evolution of port cities, consumer culture in inter-war Singapore, and depictions of women and family in post-independence government media in Singapore. Through her work at IPS, Rachel hopes to raise awareness of key policy issues and Singapore's fascinating past in ways that are accessible and interesting to the general public.
Andrew Lim is Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies. He graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science in Sociology and Psychology from the National University of Singapore, where he was exposed to social work and its challenges. Since then, he has developed a keen interest in the social service sector and a keener eye on issues relating to mental health, children-at-risk as well as low income families in Singapore. He has worked to consolidate data on social services and translate research into practitioner-centred publications, and hopes to learn more about the art of advocacy towards society's betterment.
