The Myth of the Asian Century | A Lowy Institute Paper: Penguin Special

by Bilahari Kausikan

The claim that the twenty-first century will be Asian, just as the twentieth century was American, is often made but seldom examined. Yet this axiom is not just simplistic, it could also encourage the very rivalry that most threatens Asia’s security and between the US and China. Asia is certainly playing a more prominent role in global geopolitics, just as Europe once did and America still does. The purpose of this Paper is to unpack the layers of complexity concealed by the phrase ‘the Asian Century’. The future is too complex to be characterised by any one continent.

Genres: Nonfiction

Kindle Edition

Published October 14, 2025

Reviews

[Afiq Ahmad Fauzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to Mr. Kausikan by my granduncle who knows him personally and who prefers him over Mr. Bahbubani who wrote Has China Won? and The Asian 21st Century.

Mr. Kausikan’s has a deep understanding of geopolitical dynamics in Southeast and East Asia, the latter being a region that’s oftentimes overlooked. He coined the phrase “asymmetrical dynamic multipolarity” to describe the emerging global geopolitical order succeeding the end of American unipolarity. This essay should be read my EU diplomats facing the triple shock of Trump, Putin, and Xi.

[Joel Gn · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do the stories nation-states tell themselves shape their foreign policy, and will Asia indeed be the dominant regional player of the future? In this short but incredibly incisive piece, one of Singapore's best minds in the field delivers a highly clinical appraisal of our geopolitical landscape, along with a compelling argument for the agency of small states in a world becoming more ambiguous and multipolar.

[Pascal Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting, well written. i'm not used to reading political things, some of the candid comments about nuclear weapons were jarring. maybe I just don't agree with this guy ideologically.