Latar Belakang Program
Sejak abad ke-13, Asia Tenggara telah memainkan peran strategis sebagai persimpangan perdagangan, dan menjadi titik penting penyebaran budaya, seni, dan agama yang beragam.
Saat ini, Asia Tenggara bukan hanya gerbang strategis ke pasar Asia yang luas, tetapi juga menjadi rumah bagi sekelompok ekonomi ASEAN yang tangguh dan dinamis, termasuk Brunei Darussalam, Kamboja, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Filipina, Singapura, Thailand, dan Vietnam. Pada Maret 2010, ASEAN, wilayah seluas hampir 4,5 juta kilometer persegi dan dihuni oleh sekitar 600 juta orang, berkontribusi pada perdagangan ekspor senilai sekitar US$807,715 juta dan impor senilai US$726,109 juta, dengan PDB gabungan sebesar US$1,49 triliun.
Sebagai wilayah dinamis dengan struktur sosial-politik-ekonomi yang beragam diadopsi oleh negara-negara anggotanya, Asia Tenggara mengalami perubahan dan pembaruan yang terus-menerus. Dengan pola rivalitas geostrategis Perang Dingin mulai mereda, keamanan Asia Tenggara memasuki era baru gejolak besar dan transformasi mendasar. Perubahan ini akan berdampak pada lembaga-lembaga keamanan yang baru saja muncul yang didorong oleh proses ASEAN sejak tahun 1992. Meskipun demikian, isu-isu keamanan nasional utama tetap relevan, ekonomi tetap menjadi kerangka utama untuk menjaga stabilitas di wilayah ini. Ketidakpastian baru menyertai munculnya persaingan kekuatan besar di wilayah ini, yang menantang peran dominan Amerika Serikat sementara China, India, dan Rusia memiliki peran yang lebih menonjol dalam urusan regional.
Sifat dinamis dari dinamika keamanan di wilayah ini juga tercermin dalam cara-cara yang lebih konkret dan khusus terkait dengan institusi-institusi regional. Dalam hal tantangan keamanan baru, keamanan regional harus berhadapan dengan kontra-terorisme, keamanan maritim, pembentukan pengaturan institusional yang berkelanjutan, isu-isu keamanan baru dan tradisional, keamanan energi, dan perubahan sifat struktur aliansi bilateral Amerika Serikat.
Perlu dicatat bahwa pentingnya Asia Tenggara telah diakui oleh Washington, dan ada kebangkitan minat untuk keterlibatan yang lebih dalam dengan wilayah tersebut di bawah administrasi Obama. Menteri Luar Negeri Hillary Clinton memilih Indonesia sebagai kunjungan keduanya dalam tur Asia tahun 2009. Lebih baru-baru ini, dalam pidatonya di Forum Regional ASEAN di Phuket pada Juli 2009 di mana ia menandatangani Traktat Persahabatan dan Kerjasama ASEAN, Sekretaris Negara Clinton menyatakan bahwa Amerika Serikat berharap dapat “menyusun dasar-dasar kerjasama yang lebih kuat saat kita melangkah ke depan.” Puncak tertinggi adalah kunjungan Presiden AS Barack Obama ke Singapura untuk KTT APEC pada akhir tahun 2009, di mana ia mengadakan pertemuan puncak yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya dengan pemimpin ASEAN. Setelah kesuksesan pertemuan pertama, KTT AS-ASEAN kedua sudah dalam rencana.
Dalam latar belakang lingkungan strategis ini, the Bakrie Chairs for Southeast Asian Studies/Policy didirikan di dua lembaga kelas dunia untuk mendalamkan wawasan regional dan menganalisis tren-tren baru di wilayah yang dinamis ini.
The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
RSIS was established in January 2007 as an autonomous school within the Nanyang Technological University. Known earlier as the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies when it was established in July 1996, RSIS’ mission is to be a leading research and graduate teaching institution in strategic and international affairs in the Asia Pacific.
RSIS Mission
¤ Provide a rigorous professional graduate education with a strong practical emphasis
¤ Conduct policy-relevant research in defence, national security, international relations, and strategic studies
¤ Foster a global network of like-minded professional schools
RSIS has five endowed professorships that bring distinguished scholars and practitioners to teach and to conduct research at the School : The S. Rajaratnam Professorship in Strategic Studies, The Ngee Ann Kongsi Professorship in International Relations, The NTUC Professorship in International Economic Relations, The Bakrie Professorship in Southeast Asia Policy, The Peter Lim Professorship in Peace Studies
Collaboration with other professional schools of international affairs to form a global network of excellence is a RSIS priority. RSIS maintains links with other like-minded schools so as to enrich its research and teaching activities as well as learn from the best practices of successful schools.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC:
¨ The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a unique global network of policy research centers in Russia, China, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Our mission, dating back more than a century, is to advance the cause of peace through analysis and development of fresh policy ideas and direct engagement and collaboration with decision makers in government, business, and civil society. Working together, our centers bring the inestimable benefit of multiple national viewpoints to bilateral, regional, and global issues.
¨ Founded in 1910, Carnegie is the oldest international affairs think tank in the United States. It is known for excellence in scholarship, responsiveness to changing global circumstances, and a commitment to concrete improvements in public policy.
¨ It is supervised by an international board of trustees and its research activities are overseen by a global management group. More than two-thirds of its current scholars were born outside the United States, nearly all speak languages other than their native tongues, and most have had experience in government. The global think tank has websites in Arabic, Chinese, English, and Russian.
¨ Carnegie does not take institutional positions, does not engage in lobbying, and is not involved in ideological advocacy. Instead, it relies on its independence and the quality of its scholarship to make notable contributions to national policymaking. It welcomes scholars with diverse political views and is acknowledged to be a centrist institution within the American political spectrum.
Amb. Barry Desker – Distinguished Fellow of RSIS
– Amb Desker is currently also the Non-Resident Ambassador of Singapore to the Holy See and Spain, and Chairman of Singapore Technologies Marine.
– Headed RSIS and the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies from October 2000 to November 2014.
– Continued to hold inaugural Bakrie Professorship in Southeast Asia Policy, which was established in November 2010.
– Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights, Singapore, and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship.
– Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Trade Development Board from 1994 to 2000 and
– Singapore’s Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1993
– A President’s Scholar, he was educated at the University of Singapore, University of London and Cornell University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Warwick University in 2012 and by the University of Exeter in 2013.
Vikram Nehru – a senior associate in the Asia Program CEIP.
– Most recently, he was chief economist and director for poverty reduction, economic management, and private and financial sector development for East Asia and the Pacific.
– An expert of: development economics, growth, poverty reduction, debt sustainability, governance, and the performance and prospects of East Asia.
– Research fields: economic, political, and strategic issues confronting Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.
– Served in World Bank from 1981–2011, in a number of senior management positions.