Private lunch discussion with Kishore Mahbubani: Can Asia succeed without ASEAN?

Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS), will join Asia House corporate members for a private lunch to discuss if Asia can succeed without ASEAN.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in 1967 and has produced many geopolitical miracles: bringing peace to the ‘Balkans of Asia’ and providing a geopolitical platform for Asia’s great powers to engage with each other. It is also well on the way to having the world’s fourth largest economy by 2050. Yet, ASEAN also faces new challenges today, including the South China Sea disputes and US-China competition in the region. Will ASEAN survive? Can Asia cope if it doesn’t?

Professor Mahbubani has written widely on the growing importance of Asia both economically and politically in the 21^st Century, in particular on the future prospects of ASEAN, US-China relations, and the South China Sea. In addition to this, Mr Mahbubani has provided insights on the United Kingdom’s potential prospects following the EU referendum.

Attendance at this private lunch is by invitation only. For more details please contact conor.paterson@asiahouse.co.uk.

Kishore Mahbubani has been the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS since August 2004. Before that, in his 33-year career as a diplomat, he served twice as Ambassador to the UN and as President of the UN Security Council. He has published articles in leading global journals and newspapers, including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, National Interest, Financial Times and New York Times. He has also authored five books: Can Asians Think, Beyond the Age of Innocence, The New Asian Hemisphere, The Great Convergence and Can Singapore Survive. The Great Convergence was selected by the Financial Times as one of the best books of 2013. Professor Mahbubani was listed by Foreign Policy as one of the top 100 global thinkers in 2010 and 2011; and by Prospect as one of the top 50 global thinkers in 2014.