The Age of Anxiety: Dependence, Autonomy, and Strategic Ambiguity
September 18-20, 2026, Kyoto, Japan
2026 Annual Conference on Geopolitics and International Affairs
Keynote Speaker
Evelyn Goh, Shedden Professor of Strategic Policy Studies at the Australian National University
In this era of international order transition, smaller states must navigate carefully between over-dependence on great powers and the risk of being left behind in a bifurcating global economy. Focusing on Southeast Asia and its struggle between autonomy and dependence on China, this presentation addresses the key factors driving the strategic choices of smaller states at the nexus of economics and security. Since the 1990s, China's growing investment in regional infrastructure and industry has generated political opportunities and strategic concerns in equal measure. The presentation analyses interactions between large Chinese investments and regime security dynamics across the ten ASEAN countries in the first two decades of this century, outlining a "regime security" framework and an original typology of five key types of domestic mediation of Chinese investment on regime security across the region.
Connecting Security and Economics: Regime Security in Southeast Asia's Management of Dependence on China
Evelyn Goh FBA FASSA is the Shedden Professor of Strategic Policy Studies at the Australian National University, where she is also the Director of the Southeast Asia Institute.
Professor Goh is a scholar of International Relations (IR) theory and practice. She is also a regional expert who studies China, the U.S., Northeast and Southeast Asia. Her most influential research includes original theorisation of "hedging" strategies, hegemony and hierarchy In East Asian regional orders (historical and contemporary), China's power and influence, and her original 'Strategic Diplomacy' policy framework. Her books include The Struggle for Order: Hegemony, Resistance and Transition in Post-Cold War East Asia (Oxford, 2013) and Rethinking Sino-Japanese Alienation: History Problems and Historical Opportunities(Oxford, 2020) (with Barry Buzan).
Register your attendance at this event as a non-presenter.
Attendees are welcome to join us for free but the number of spaces is limited. This form will be taken down from the website when that number is reached. Two conferences lunches on Saturday and Sunday are available for a nominal fee of $12. These need to be pre-booked.
