Tag: Ryan Lee
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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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Evaluating Allies: What makes a good partner
With the Trump-Brexit and coronavirus-accelerated reshuffling of global order, recent reexaminations and reimaginings of global alliance have been rife. Questions of new sets of alliances, alignments and understandings are now common, whether it be Macron’s suggestions of a new European-Russian reset or renewed talks around whether the Quad could actually be a functional China-containment coalition.…
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Game of Thrones: Saudi Arabia between Aristocracy and Absolutism
Through an interrogation of Saudi history, this essay will establish the key causes of Saudi Arabia’s present seemingly medieval political, socioeconomic and legal status. With reference to the concepts of Enlightened Autocracy in opposition to Feudal Aristocracy, it will then attempt to explain the current power transition and near-future trends of reform in the Kingdom.
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Why Historical Claims are bad logic and bad policy
From the Elgin Marbles to Jerusalem to South China Sea islands, claims on territory, artefacts or sites based on history are rampant. Rather than pointing to tangible and more easily measurable indicators of competency or popularity, states have often resorted to waving old maps and descriptions at each other to justify a right to rule…
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Rising Sun over Red Ocean: Japanese Power in a Chinese Asia
In the brutal world of geopolitics, it might seem like the rook’s existence is a sorry one. Acting as a key pillar of the US-centric liberal order, after all, often drags one into the treacherous conflicts arising from superpower competition without granting it the decision-making space to set the terms and context of such engagements.…
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Shrinking Pacific: Australia’s Struggle for the Status Quo
When it comes to the politics of the Asia-Pacific, it is often easy to forget Australia, owing to its isolated position at its corner of the South Pacific. This is a reality happily embraced by Australians who have been largely able to pick and choose which conflicts to participate in. However, recent trends point towards…
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A sustainable “Chinese Asia” is a wrong, US-centric idea
It is often fashionable, in present political discourse, to claim that the 21st century will be a Chinese century, and that in some great return to historical norm, mastery of Asia, if not the entire world, has swung back to the Chinese. However, does China really have what it takes to maintain control over Asia?…
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Cowardly Eagle: Germany’s Geopolitical Weakness despite Economic Dominance
By all economic measures, Germany should be the unquestioned European superpower, with all the nations of the world rushing to court or accommodate it. However, Germany’s lack of political and military engagement have made it a frustrating ally and a tempting target. This article shall analyse the nature, reasons and implications of this geopolitical weakness…
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Sid Meier’s Civilization: Geopolitical Realism vs Constructivism
Sid Meier’s Civilization is a turn-based strategy game about controlling a Civilization from the dawn of history to the modern and future age, incorporating ideas of military conquest, cultural imperialism and economic base building. It is a “4X” game, a term that broadly refers to the core actions of Explore, Expand, Exploit and Exterminate. While…
UnderStated 