Abstract

The four-decade ‘long Asian Peace’ was created by many factors but central among them were the ways in which the region’s economic structure and strategic balance aligned both the security and economic interests of Asia’s key powers. Reflecting broader global trends in Asia there was a consensus that a from the early 1980s until the late 2010s that a broadly open and liberal approach to the global economy was a benefit for all.  This consensus has collapsed, in part due to Covid, but also due to the return of economic nationalism and Sino-American rivalry. The PRC is looking to have its economic growth driven by internal sources, having depended in the past for external markets to drive its prosperity. While in the US and other developed economies countries are seeking to ‘re-shore’ jobs that had gone abroad during the globalisation of production in the 1990s and 2000s. There are also calls to establish trading blocs among ‘like-minded’ states. Many countries are also seeking to develop sovereign capabilities in critical areas including health, pharmaceuticals as well as AI and quantum computing and there are also growing efforts to reduce supply chain vulnerability more general. This seminar explores how globalisation is being reconstituted and the possible implications for Asia’s competitive security order.

About the Speaker

Nick Bisley is the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Australia. Nick is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and the President of the Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Nick is a member of the Council for Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of International Affairs between 2013 and 2018, and has been a Senior Research Associate of the International Institute of Strategic Studies and a Visiting Fellow at the East West-Center in Washington DC.