In Conversation with Mr Kishore Mahbubani: Can Australia learn geopolitical lessons from ASEAN?

Join The University of Queensland School of Political Science and International Studies in conversation with Mr Kishore Mahbubani. All are welcome.

Few Australians are aware that Australia has been receiving a geopolitical dividend of peace from the continued competence of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in managing its geopolitical environment. It’s a mistake for Australians to take this geopolitical dividend for granted. They should get to understand and appreciate ASEAN more. At the same time, they could also learn a few lessons from ASEAN on how to manage the dramatically different global geopolitical environment of the 21st century. 

The discussion will be chaired by Professor Katrina Lee Koo, Head of School, School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland.

Mr Kishore Mahbubani

Kishore Mahbubani is a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS).

Mr Mahbubani has been privileged to enjoy two distinct careers, in diplomacy (1971 to 2004) and in academia (2004 to 2019). He is a prolific writer who has spoken in many corners of the world.

In diplomacy, he was with the Singapore Foreign Service for 33 years (1971 to 2004). He had postings in Cambodia, Malaysia, Washington DC and New York, where he twice was Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN and served as President of the UN Security Council in January 2001 and May 2002. He was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1993 to 1998. As a result of his excellent performance in his diplomatic career, he was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) by the Singapore Government in 1998.

Mr Mahbubani joined academia in 2004, when he was appointed the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School), NUS. He was Dean from 2004 to 2017, and a Professor in the Practice of Public Policy from 2006 to 2019. In April 2019, he was elected as an honorary international member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which has honoured distinguished thinkers, including several of America’s founding fathers, since 1780. Read more

Event details 

Date: Thursday 17 July 2025
Time: 10:15am for 10:30am–12pm
Location: Room 116, Sir Llew Edwards Building (14), UQ St Lucia (view map)

Enquiries:
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Email: engagement@hass.uq.edu.au