The Singapore Lecture is designed to provide an opportunity for distinguished statesmen and leaders of thought and knowledge to reach a wider audience in Singapore. The presence of such eminent personalities allows Singaporeans, especially younger executives and decision-makers in both the public and private sectors, the benefit of exposure to leading world figures who address topics of international and regional interest. The 39th Singapore Lecture was delivered by His Excellency Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, on 24 November 2016 under the distinguished Chairmanship of Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, Singapore.

Over the last 40 years, the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute has been honoured to partner with the Singapore government in hosting 44 Singapore Lectures. The Singapore Lecture series is a unique public platform for world leaders and experts visiting Singapore that reflects the city-state’s role as a global hub of ideas and diplomacy. The 21 lectures chosen for this 40th anniversary volume chart the fundamental changes in the global economy and the inter-state system that Southeast Asia and Singapore have successfully navigated over these four momentous decades. "The Singapore Lectures reflect the city-state’s progress for the past forty years. This selection skilfully captures the highlights from the way Singapore began to learn to read the world to how it became an open and inclusive site of globalization. The collection might do more. The leaders from the five continents who spoke at ISEAS had come to share their experiences, their wisdom and, not least, their dreams. Following what they offered gives us a multifaceted picture that is instructive. It gives readers the chance to review an era of intense rivalry during which political conflicts were accompanied by unprecedented economic growth, when lessons were learnt from tragic failures and leaping successes. Read together, the lectures give us hope in a time of unprecedented global turmoil: there will surely be future leaders who could find ways to rid the world of its demons."--Wang Gungwu, Professor, National University of Singapore (NUS), and former Chairman of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute Board of Trustees

The Singapore Lecture series was inaugurated in 1980 by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) with a founding endowment from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and augmented by a generous donation in 1983 from ExxonMobil Asia Pacific. The Singapore Lecture is designed to provide an opportunity for distinguished statesmen and leaders of thought and knowledge to reach a wider audience in Singapore. The presence of such eminent personalities allows Singaporeans, especially younger executives and decision-makers in both the public and private sectors, the benefit of exposure to leading world figures who address topics of international and regional interest. The 42nd Singapore Lecture was delivered by His Excellency Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea, on 13 July 2018 under the distinguished Chairmanship of Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Singapore.

The Singapore Lecture is designed to provide an opportunity for distinguished statesmen and leaders of thought and knowledge to reach a wider audience in Singapore. The presence of such eminent personalities allows Singaporeans, especially younger executives and decision-makers in both the public and private sectors, the benefit of exposure to leading world figures who address topics of international and regional interest. The 41st Singapore Lecture was delivered by His Excellency Binali Yıldırım, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, on 21 August 2017 under the distinguished Chairmanship of Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, Singapore.

The triumph of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy at the 2015 election was supposed to mark the consolidation of a reformist trajectory for Myanmar society. What has followed has not proved so straightforward. This book takes stock of the mutations, continuities and fractures at the heart of today’s political and economic transformations. We ask: What has changed under a democratically elected government? Where are the obstacles to reform? And is there scope to foster a more prosperous and inclusive Myanmar? With the peace process faltering, over 1 million people displaced by recent violence, and ongoing army dominance in key areas of decision-making, the chapters in this volume identify areas of possible reform within the constraints of Myanmar’s hybrid civil–military governance arrangements. This latest volume in the Myanmar Update Series from the Australian National University continues a long tradition of intense, critical engagement with political, economic and social questions in one of Southeast Asia’s most complicated countries. At a time of great uncertainty and anxiety, the 13 chapters of Myanmar Transformed? offer new and alternative ways to understand Myanmar and its people.

The Singapore Lecture series was inaugurated in 1980 by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) with a founding endowment from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and augmented by a generous donation in 1983 from ExxonMobil Asia Pacific. The Singapore Lecture is one of the intellectual highlights of Singapore. It provides an opportunity for distinguished statesmen and leaders to reach a wider audience in Singapore. The presence of such eminent personalities will allow members of the civil service, business community, diplomatic corps, academic community, media, and other interested parties, the opportunity to hear from leading world figures speak on topics of international and regional interest. The 45th Singapore Lecture was delivered by His Excellency José Ramos-Horta, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, on 8 December 2022, under the distinguished Chairmanship of Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore.

The Singapore Lecture series was inaugurated in 1980 by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) with a founding endowment from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and augmented by a generous donation in 1983 from ExxonMobil Asia Pacific. The Singapore Lecture is one of the intellectual highlights of Singapore. It provides an opportunity for distinguished statesmen and leaders to reach a wider audience in Singapore. The presence of such eminent personalities will allow members of the civil service, business community, diplomatic corps, academic community, media, and other interested parties, the opportunity to hear from leading world figures speak on topics of international and regional interest. The 46th Singapore Lecture was delivered by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on 24 May 2024, under the distinguished Chairmanship of Mr Teo Chee Hean, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, Singapore.