Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World

180 Pages·2013·0.9 MB·English

by  Robert D

The Belfer Center Studies in International Security book series is edited at the
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy
School and is published by The MIT Press. The series publishes books on
contemporary issues in international security policy, as well as their conceptual
and historical foundations. Topics of particular interest to the series include the
spread of weapons of mass destruction, internal conflict, the international effects
of democracy and democratization, and U.S. defense policy. A complete list of
Belfer Center Studies appears at the back of this volume.
The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World
Interviews and Selections by
Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill
with Ali Wyne
Foreword by Henry A. Kissinger

Foreword, Henry A. Kissinger
Who Is Lee Kuan Yew?
When Lee Kuan Yew Talks, Who Listens?
Preface
CHAPTER 1
The Future of China
CHAPTER 2
The Future of the United States
CHAPTER 3
The Future of U.S.-China Relations
CHAPTER 4
The Future of India
CHAPTER 5
The Future of Islamic Extremism
CHAPTER 6
The Future of National Economic Growth
CHAPTER 7
The Future of Geopolitics and Globalization
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 8
The Future of Democracy
CHAPTER 9
How Lee Kuan Yew Thinks
CHAPTER 1 0
Conclusion
Notes
About the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
I have had the privilege of meeting many world
leaders over the past half century; none, however, has taught me more than Lee
Kuan Yew, Singapore's first premier and its guiding spirit ever since. As to the
ancient argumentwhether individuals shape events or are their register-there can
be no doubt about the answer with regard to Lee Kuan Yew, a man of
unmatched intelligence and judgment.
By far the smallest country in Southeast Asia, Singapore seemed destined to
become a client state of more powerful neighbors, if indeed it could preserve its
independence at all. Lee thought otherwise. His vision was of a state that would
not simply survive, but prevail by excelling. Superior intelligence, discipline,
and ingenuity would substitute for resources. He summoned his compatriots to a
duty that they had never previously perceived: first to clean up their city, then to
dedicate it to overcome the initial hos tility of their neighbors and their own
ethnic divisions by superior performance. The Singapore of today is his
testament.
When Lee took over, per capita income was about $400 a year; it is now
more than $50,000. He inspired his polyglot population to become the
intellectual and technical center of the Asia-Pacific. Because of his leadership, a
medium-sized city has become a significant international and economic player,
especially in fostering multilateral transpacific ties.
Along the way, Lee has made himself an indispensable friend of the United
States, not primarily by the power he represents, but by the excellence of his
thinking. His analysis is of such quality and depth that his counterparts consider
meeting with him as a way to educate themselves. For three generations now,
whenever Lee comes to Washington, he meets with an array of people spanning
the top ranks of the American government and foreign policy community. His
discussions occur in an atmosphere of rare candor borne of high regard and long-
shared experience. Every American president who has dealt with him has
benefited from the fact that, on international issues, he has identified the future
of his country with the fate of the democracies. Furthermore, Lee can tell us
about the nature of the world that we face, with especially penetrating insights
into the thinking of his region.
Lee's analyses shed light on the most important challenge that the United
States confronts over the long term: how to build a fundamental and organic
relationship with Asia, including China. There is nobody who can teach us more
about the nature and the scope of this effort than Lee Kuan Yew. As this book
demonstrates, however, his insights extend far beyond U.S.-China relations; they
encompass virtually every challenge of international relations. It will not take
long for readers to discover why Lee is not only one of the seminal leaders of
our period, but also a thinker recognized for his singular strategic acumen.
-Henry A. Kissinger
New York, April 2012
A strategist's strategist
A leader's leader
A mentor's mentor