The Colloquium in International Security Studies presents
Wen-Qing Ngoei, Associate Professor of History, Singapore Management University and Associate Dean (External Engagement), College of Integrative Studies:
“‘Better the hegemon you know…’: Singapore and Pax Americana from the Cold War to the Present.”
The essay compares the Singapore-U.S. and Singapore-China relationships from the Cold War through the early twenty-first century, revealing that Singapore continually works to uphold the U.S.-led international system that it believes to be beneficial to the economy and security of the city-state and the nations of the wider region. In the face of China’s resurgence, the essay examines how Singapore has tried to socialize China into becoming a willing contributor to the stability of the existing international system.
Ngoei’s essays have appeared in Diplomatic History, International Journal, and volumes such as the Cambridge History of the Vietnam War. He is currently working on a book that examines Singapore-U.S. relations from the late 1970s through the end of the Cold War, the War on Terror, and the Sino-U.S. rivalry in Southeast Asia.