Publications

Trade and Economic Connectivity in the Age of Uncertainty

Panorama Insights into Asian and European Affairs

With the global economy and trade system undergoing massive shifts,the need for global economic and trade cooperation has never been greater. With Asia and Europe representing 55% of global trade, it has become imperative for both continents to strengthen their ties and uphold multilateralism and the rules-based free trade system.

ASEAN-EU Security Connectivity: From Political Declarations to Practical Cooperation

Security and multilateralism have become key policy fields for cooperation between ASEAN and the EU. But KAS Senior Program Manager Patrick Rüppel argues that it is necessary to have more practical cooperation projects in these areas if the two regions want to move towards a strategic partnership.

Taking Stock of Smart Nation Development in Singapore

Singapore is undergoing an unprecedented digital transformation into a "Smart Nation" – a hyper-connected city-state where digital and computing technologies are weaved into everything from public infrastructures and offices to homes and everyday objects. Tan Teck Boon presents the smart city concept, implemented by Singapore as a solution to the assortment of problems brought on by rapid urbanisation.

The Future of Digitalisation

Workshop Report

Digitalisation is one of the most important issues of our time. Societies, economies and industries are being reshaped on a scale and speed like never before. In this workshop, we wanted to explore the benefits and challenges of digital transformation and its implications for societies in Asia. The report provides an overview of the method used and the results of the discussion.

Social Credit System in China

China's social credit system is often depicted as a draconian mass surveillance project driven by almighty technologies to curtail personal freedom. Chis Fei Shen takes a close look at the system, attending to the original government documents and one underlying motivation for the system: lack of trustworthiness at all levels of Chinese society.

ASEAN Security Connectivity

Regional Solutions to Regional Security Challenges

After the successful culmination of our one and half year project on ASEAN Security Connectivity, we are pleased to present our latest publication which presents the outcomes of this project as well as includes three sample case studies and the six vital policy recommendation which will be put forward to to the forthcoming ASEAN Chairs Thailand and Vietnam.

China’s Techno-Utilitarian Experiments with Artificial Intelligence

In just a very short period of time China has emerged as an important centre for Artificial Intelligence

Dev Lewis examines China’s motivations for becoming a global leader in AI, maps out the size of China’s ecosystem so far and the ways in which the Chinese government and internet companies are building the AI ecosystem.

China's Tech-Giants: Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent

Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, the three largest Chinese technology companies, are at the forefront of China's booming digital economy

Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, the three largest Chinese technology companies, are at the forefront of China's booming digital economy. Their rapid growth was promoted by investments of Western countries, a huge domestic market and support of the government. While the “Great Chinese Firewall” prevented overseas companies from asserting themselves on the Chinese market, it has enabled domestic companies to thrive in areas such as search engines, e-commerce, social media, and mobile gaming. The new "Internet Plus" policy is now helping these companies find their way into new fields of activity while fostering the emergence of a new generation of Chinese unicorns.

Digital total

Ein Regierungsprogramm macht Singapur zum Vorreiter der Digitalisierung

Die singapurische Regierung hat ein klares Ziel: Das Land soll zu einer „Smart Nation“ werden. Bereits heute durchdringen digitale Technologien alle Bereiche des Alltags, denn der Inselstaat bietet beste Voraussetzungen für Innovationen und Experimente. Gleichzeitig werden Fragen der Cyber-Sicherheit und des Datenschutzes dadurch mit größerer Dringlichkeit verhandelt. Aus europäischer Sicht lohnt sich der Blick Richtung Asien, wo man die digitale Zukunft erahnen kann – mit positiven wie negativen Konsequenzen.

Identifying ways to deepen the EU-Singapore cyber relationship

The first EU-Singapore Security Think Tank Dialogue was held in Singapore at the end of January at the initiative of the EU Delegation to Singapore in order to promote greater political and security cooperation between these parties. Three policy areas were chosen for discussion, namely maritime security, cybersecurity, and counter-terrorism. While cyber-related questions also cut across maritime security and counter-terrorism issues, the underlying goal of the cybersecurity panel was to identify ways to deepen the EU-Singapore relationship in the field of cybersecurity, pointing out areas where the two sides could mutually learn from each other and cooperate more. This commentary was originally prepared to explore possible avenues for cyber cooperation between the EU and Singapore for the EU-Singapore Security Dialogue in January. The approach taken below is to first analyse the cyber nexus with wider EU-Singapore political and security cooperation in order to establish avenues for cyber cooperation. This then leads to a discussion about identifying specific priority areas for cyber cooperation through offering a list of examples, which is by no means exhaustive.