"Discipline Over Exceptionalism" - By CWP Alum Ja-Ian Chong

Despite an association with claims of Asian exceptionalism, the discipline of International Relations (IR) in Singapore tends to reflect approaches common to mainstream Anglophone, North American and, to a lesser extent, British perspectives on the discipline. Intellectual paradigms such as realism and constructivism seem to have a particularly enduring hold on teaching, research and knowledge production, even though the awareness of Global IR and alternative viewpoints is relatively widespread. The reasons for this divergence between statements about a focus on Asia and adherence to more conventional disciplinary norms are varied. The internationalization of Singapore academia, which incentivizes publication in highly-ranked international journals and university presses dominated by Anglophone academia, seems to be a key reason. Other explanations include a need to conform to the preferences of state funders who tend to view the world in policy rather than conceptual terms, and the fact that IR scholars in Singapore predominantly receive their training from parts of the Anglophone world. Limitations on being able to study Singapore in-depth also mean that Singapore-based scholars tend to engage intellectually with work that examines disparate locations outside of the country—even if they are in Asia—rather than systematically consider Singapore’s position in the world.

Discipline over Exceptionalism: Singapore-based Scholars, Regional Sensitivities and the Appeal of Anglophone International Relations Approaches, by Ja Ian Chong

• Contemporary Southeast Asia Vol. 44/2 (August 2022)
  [Whole Publication, ISSN: 1793284X]

The focus of my teaching and research is on international relations, especially IR theory, security, Chinese foreign policy, and international relations in the Asia-Pacific. Of particular interest to me are issues that stand at the nexus of international and domestic politics, such as influences on nationalism and the consequences of major power competition on the domestic politics of third countries. I also enjoy looking at historical material in my research. In addition to my academic background, I have experience working in think-tanks both in Singapore and in the United States. As such, I also look at the relationship between political science theory and policy, and believe the two can inform each other.

I am author of External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation–China, Indonesia, Thailand, 1893-1952 (Cambridge, 2012), which received the 2013 Best Book Award from the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association.

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