[Video] Bilahari Kausikan: The Cold War, Russia-China Relations, and the Making (and Unmaking?) of Southeast Asia

Recorded on April 8th, 2025

For the 2025 Borton-Mosely Distinguished Lecture at Columbia University, veteran Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan shares his insights into how the Cold War and the rivalry between China and the U.S.S.R. gave rise to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the federation of states that was founded in 1967 to promote regional stability—and how ASEAN, in turn, helped shape the idea of Southeast Asia as a cohesive region with its own identity.

This event was hosted by Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, a NYSEAN Partner.