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Building a Global Policy School in Asia

Last month I had the opportunity to visit the LKY Policy School, ranked #3 in the world for Policy Schools. In preparation for the visit, I picked up “Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy – Building a Global Policy School in Asia”. The book was published in 2012, meaning it reflected on the first […]

Tags: #LKY #LKY Policy School #LKY SPP #National University of Singapore #NUS #Policy Schools #Singapore

Thought Provokers

Silencing the Past

Written by Michel-Rolph Trouillot in 1995, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History is a widely cited (more than 11,000 citations as of this post) critique of representation in history. The book brings power to the fore of history, which is often assumed to be apolitical or unbiased. The author passed away in […]

Tags: #Anthropology #History #Narrative #Power #Representation #Silences

Thought Provokers

Acts Of Resistance

The history of anti-colonial resistance is not widely available in the global bookstore. However, when one travels to places where such resistance took place local publishers often make these histories visible. One example is a short book – Acts of Resistance: Dol Said and the Naning War – that documents the leadership and acts of […]

Tags: #Anticolonial struggle #Dol Said #History #Malaysia #Naning #Resistance

Thought Provokers

Singapore: Public Subsidy / Private Accumulation

On a trip to Singapore in 2025 one question that arose as we moved around the country was what tools the government used to generate revenue, and in particular for a small, high income country without natural resources. One of the unexpected areas (beyond the location and development of a maritime trading hub, financial hub, […]

Tags: #Development #Housing #Land #Nationalization #Singapore

Thought Provokers

Empire of Humanity

Michael Barnett’s “Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism” (2011, Cornell University Press) is a great addition to not only the history of the sector but also its complexities and ethical challenges. This is recommended reading for anyone seeking to understand humanitarianism. One limitation is that the book has a eurocentric focus, neglecting traditions from […]

Tags: #History #Humanitarian #Humanitarianism #Humanity

Thought Provokers

On The Postcolony

Mbembe is a great philosopher who has made significant contributions, which are widely cited. This is notable because his work is largely in French and his books have had to be translated into English to reach broader audiences. Despite that delay, as of this writing he has amassed 70,000 citations to his work. This book, […]

Tags: #Achille Mbembe #Banality #Mbembe #Postcolony #Power

Thought Provokers