LEARNING OUTCOMES

While Singapore’s foreign policy is a function of its unique past and location, some of the characteristics which contribute to the evolution of its relations with the wider world exist in varying degrees in all countries. Through the assignments, students will learn to analyze public speeches of politicians and diplomats. Since many of Singapore’s long-serving key diplomats have penned memoirs/books and been the object of academic studies, the analysis of their experiences and worldview will form part of the focus of this module; diplomats such as Tommy Koh, Chan Heng Chee, Kishore Mahbubani and Bilahari Kausikan representing Singapore since the 1970s have not only articulated but also helped forge its foreign policy. Students will learn to read previously classified documents and to interpret academic articles as well as public opinion pieces written by contemporary experts in the media. This module will also require students to reflect whether the emergence of China and India as powers in the Indo-Pacific region does represent an important inflection point for Singapore’s diplomacy. Students who have been exposed to different perspectives on foreign policy in this module, i.e. official speeches, foreign primary source documents and policy actions, will acquire the intellectual tools to think independently and insightfully about other international developments. Students’ ability to de-construct official speeches/texts and policies, whether foreign or domestic, will be invaluable life-skills beyond this module and their education in NUS. Such skills will enhance their media literacy and develop their discernment towards fake news and internet falsehoods.

TEACHING MODES

Lectures, presentations, discussions and assignments The essays for Assignment 1 through 4 will be 1300-1500 words each.  Assignment 5 will be 1800-2000 words. 1.    Assignment 1 will be based on a transcript of a speech by S Rajaratnam and an interview of Lee Kuan Yew taped for an US audience in the 1960s.  Students will be given a summary of the domestic and international context of the period and will write a response essay to the assigned sources. 2.    Assignment 2 will be a response essay to assigned readings on Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia relations. 3.    Assignment 3 will be a response essay to leaked  US Wikileaks documents on Singapore’s diplomacy. 4.    Assignment 4 will be a response essay on assigned sources on Singapore’s perspective on the rise of China and its implication for the Asia-Pacific. 5.    Assignment 5 will be focused on the differences between 2 prominent Singapore diplomats, Kishore Mahbubani and Bilahari Kausikan on the future of Singapore diplomacy and policies in the Indo-Pacific area.  Students will be asked to write an Op-ed piece intended for publication in a news outlet about the possible evolution of Singapore’s foreign policy in the 21st Century. ​ One defining difference that I will adopt in this module is the centrality of contextual and textual analysis in the lectures. I will focus most lectures, including Lectures 4-7 and 9-11, on key speeches and writings of Lee Kuan Yew and others on the topic to be analysed. The weekly 2-hour tutorial session that follows will complement the lecture by examining the assigned readings by scholars and other foreign policy experts on that topic. For example, Lecture 7 will be the close reading of the speech that S Rajaratnam gave at the inaugural session of ASEAN in 1967. The tutorial will then probe how scholars have appraised ASEAN’s development. As part of acquiring a historical perspective, for 2 of the 5 assignments, students will be expected to respond to speeches and archival documents of key players, both domestic and foreign. Many of the assigned readings and articles are authored by Singapore diplomats and policy-makers.

ASSESSMENT

A more detailed syllabus and schedule will be uploaded in the next 2 days.