Accidents and Agency with Bilahari Kausikan

State of Asia

Bilahari Kausikan is an iconic veteran of diplomacy, with a career of 37 years under his belt at Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as Ambassador to Russia, to the UN in New York, and as the Ministry's Permanent Secretary.
In this episode, he explains why he's not unhopeful about the state of the world, the fundamental dilemma facing China, and how, as a small country, you can still have agency on the global stage.
Bilahari will deliver the annual STATE OF ASIA Address in Zurich, Switzerland, on November 21, 2023. He'll also speak at the STATE OF ASIA conference the following day. Find information on how to get tickets on our website.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland.
Season 5, episode 1 - Published: September 19, 2023
Host and Producer: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

Chapters

1. Welcome (00:00:00)

2. How to be diplomatic (00:02:01)

3. The world has always been an uncertain place (00:06:18)

4. War and double standards (00:07:55)

5. Democracy vs Foreign Policy (00:10:03)

6. BRICS mostly represents a mood (00:13:17)

7. Xi Jinping's modest record (00:15:53)

8. Elections in Taiwan and the US (00:22:21)

9. Small nations still have agency (00:24:18)

10. Competition is inherent (00:26:26)

11. Bantering (00:28:05)