Tag: Louis Teo
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Functions of Arms and Interstate Violence: An Expanded Framework
This piece shall strive to act as a reminder and interpretation of as well as an update to Schelling’s classic work of strategic studies. Assisted by original diagrams that map out Schelling’s strategic theory, the first half shall seek to adapt Schelling’s Cold War US-centric theory for a more general model of conflict that broadly…
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Castles of Scar Tissue: Trauma Praetorianism in Interwar Poland and Contemporary Burma
Interwar Poland and present-day Burma share many similarities, particularly in their regime-type governance, which is categorized by the hegemonic if not total domination by an almost aristocratic military caste-institution, similar to the Praetorian Guard of the old Roman Empire. Through examining the similarities and differences between these two case studies, this essay will identify “Trauma…
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Reactionary Internationale: What a globally-networked, export-friendly Far-Right is and means for the world
In February 2021, a 16-year old Christian Indian student in Singapore was arrested for plotting terrorist attacks on two mosques after being radicalized online. Such a plot was the first of its ideological kind in Singaporean history, marking a new chapter in Singapore’s fight against terrorism, which before had mainly dealt with Salafi-jihadism and revolutionary…
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Trading National for Service: How Conscription cripples State Control in exchange for Military Might
This response essay seeks to illustrate why conscription is a process that does not produce political control, coherence and influence, but rather spends that very resource of control in exchange for the military resource of manpower.
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A Gray-Zone shaped Hole: Why “Escalation Ladders” affect Deterrence analysis and planning
this essay will attempt to build upon LTC Harris Tan’s piece on deterrence through adopting and adapting the “escalation ladder” to think about conflict and aggression with greater logical specificity and clarity.
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Sowing Addiction, Reaping Reliance: The Imperial Hard-Power Logic of Foreign Aid
To people who are fundamentally distrustful of the loyalty of friends and partners in International Relations, foreign aid can seem like a frivolous expenditure of critical state resources. This piece will seek to prove that with some strategic imagination and material re-prioritization, foreign aid can still be used as an excellent method of intense, even…
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Feeding the Dogs of War: Dynamics, Utility and Risks of Sponsored Insurgency in Border Competition
A security-studies approach to analysing sponsoring insurgency as a tool in the power projection toolbox, explaining why it is used in border competition specifically and the associated risks.
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Inoculating the Republic: Securing Singapore from Superpower Subversion through Open, Mass Political Policing
This piece shall dive deeper into threat analysis on subversion threats facing Singapore and based on that threat analysis, explain why an empowered political policing process that goes beyond hunting extremists is a necessary step in safeguarding the integrity of Singapore’s political process and social cohesion.
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Too Angry for Empire: How a Han-centric, hypersensitive nationalism undermines Chinese imperial expansion
Why China’s specific strain of nationalism, as constructed by Beijing, hurts the exercise of Chinese power, no matter that power’s degree.
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We’re gonna need a bigger boat: Singapore and the Aircraft Carrier
Would an aircraft carrier make sense in the Singapore navy? Through answering this question, this essay hopes to also shed some light on Singapore’s maritime needs and the role of aircraft carriers and the thought process involved in defence acquisitions and strategy. What unique purposes do aircraft carriers serve? In essence, aircraft carriers serve the…
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