Abstract

Evidence of a fragmented world abound. Deepening and widening geopolitical competitions risk open military conflicts and are being felt beyond traditional political security domains, stifling the prospect for cooperation on global commons issues. The promise of multilateralism is being extinguished by unilateralist tendencies, driven by geopolitical dynamics as well as increasingly inward-looking foreign policies. Inclusive regional architectures are being tested by competing visions that may deepen divides. Not least of all, diplomacy and dialogue as statecrafts to deal with inter-state disputes and intra-state conflicts are facing severe headwinds. Recourse to diplomacy and dialogue are portrayed as signs of weakness and appeasement, of conferring legitimacy to the position or the status of the opposing side. In Southeast Asia, the situation in the South China Sea and Myanmar once again tests the region’s common resolve. Yet, Southeast Asia has instances of disputes and differences managed through diplomacy and dialogue. What conditions allow for diplomacy and dialogue to find traction? For the spirit of amity to prevail once again?

About the Speaker

Marty Natalegawa was appointed as Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies on 1 July 2022.

Dr Natalegawa holds a D.Phil. from the Australian National University; an M.Phil. from University of Cambridge; and a BSc (Hons) from the London School of Economics.

Dr Natalegawa served as Foreign Minister of Indonesia (2009 – 2014). Previously, he served as Permanent Representative/Ambassador of Indonesia to the United Nations (UN); Ambassador to the UK and also to Ireland. Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, among others, he served as Director General for ASEAN Cooperation and Director for International Organizations.

Within ASEAN, he has been instrumental in pushing for the ASEAN Community and was an early advocate of an ASEAN role in the Indo-Pacific through the concept of “dynamic equilibrium”. Throughout, including as Foreign Minister, he actively promoted the management and resolution of potential conflicts in the region.

Within the context of the UN, he served, among others, as President of the Security Council in November 2007 and led Indonesia’s delegation at numerous multilateral negotiations, both within the UN and beyond. He was instrumental in securing Indonesia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 2012.

He served in the UNSG’s High Level Panel on Global Response to Health Crises and UN President of the General Assembly’s 72nd Session Team of External Advisors.

He is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Advisory Board on Mediation. He also served as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament and the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

He is also presently Asia Society Policy Institute Distinguished Fellow; a member of the International Academic Advisory Committee of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies; the Southeast Asia Advisory Board of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS – Washington, D.C.); Global Advisory Committee of the Jeju Forum; the Board of Directors of the Global Centre for Pluralism, Ottawa; and is a Prominent Research Scholar of the Bank of Indonesia Institute. He is also the Chairperson of the Asia Pacific Leaders Network (APLN) for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

He is the author of  “Does ASEAN Matter? A View from Within” (ISEAS Publishing – 2018).

Dr Natalegawa has been cited as “one of the most respected foreign policy and international security thinkers of his generation, both within Indonesia, in South-east Asia, and in the broader Asia-Pacific region”.