ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

{{Short description|Singaporean statutory board and research institution}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}{{Use British English|date=December 2023}}

{{Infobox institute

|image = ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute.jpg

|image_size = 270

|image_alt =

|caption = ISEAS headquarters in Singapore

|motto =

|mottoeng =

|parent =

|founder =

|established = {{Start date and age|1968|06|07|df=y}} (as Institute of Southeast Asian Studies)

|mission =

|focus = South-east Asia

|director =

|chairman = Chan Heng Chee

|budget =

|address = 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore 119614

|coordinates = {{Coord|01|17|30|N|103|46|36|E|region:SG-05_type:landmark|display=inline,title|format=dms}}

|website = [https://www.iseas.edu.sg ISEAS.edu.sg]

|key_people = Choi Shing Kwok, Director & CEO

Terence Chong, Deputy CEO & Director of Research

Tan Tai Tiong, Director (Corporate Services)

|module = {{Infobox government agency|child=yes

|type = Institute

|agency_name =

|abbreviation =

|logo =

|logo_width =

|logo_caption =

|jurisdiction = Government of Singapore

|parent_agency = Ministry of Education}}

}}

The ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute is a research institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1968.{{Cite web |date=2011-07-22 |title=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |url=http://app.sgdi.gov.sg/listing.asp?agency_subtype=dept&agency_id=0000000059 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003043156/http://app.sgdi.gov.sg/listing.asp?agency_subtype=dept&agency_id=0000000059 |archive-date=3 October 2011 |access-date=23 April 2012 |website=Government of Singapore}}

Previously known as the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, the organisation was renamed as ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute on 12 August 2015, in honour of Singapore's first President, Yusof Ishak.{{Cite news |last=Siau |first=Ming En |date=16 July 2015 |title=Board-member clause in ISEAS Bill 'will have no material impact' |url=https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/board-member-clause-iseas-bill-will-have-no-material-impact |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=Today Online}} The institute celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivering a lecture{{Cite web |date=27 December 2018 |title=PMO – PM Lee Hsien Loong at the ISEAS 50th Anniversary Lecture |url=https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/pm-lee-hsien-loong-iseas-50th-anniversary-lecture |website=Prime Minister's Office Singapore}} on 13 March that year.

According to its website, the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute's primary objectives are:

  • To be a leading research centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security, and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geo-strategic and economic environment;
  • To stimulate research and debate within scholarly circles, enhance public awareness of the region, and facilitate the search for viable solutions to the varied problems confronting the region;
  • To nurture a community of scholars interested in the region and to engage in research on the multi-faceted dimensions and issues of stability and security, economic development, and political, social and cultural change.

The institute conducts a range of research programmes; holds conferences, workshops, lectures and seminars; publishes briefs, research journals and books; and generally provides a range of research support facilities, including a large library collection.

Research programmes

  • Regional Economic Studies
  • Regional Strategic and Political Studies
  • Regional Social and Cultural Studies

Country Studies Programmes

The country-focused programmes are meant to complement the institute's three basic disciplinary programmes, with the cross-affiliation of researchers between the two sets of programmes helping to encourage research projects which are more comparative in nature and are conceptually bolder.

The five country-specific programmes are Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam (including Indochina).{{Cite web |date=25 July 2015 |title=Country Studies Programme - ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute |url=https://www.iseas.edu.sg/country-studies/country-studies-programme |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=ISEAS}}

Research Centres

  • ASEAN Studies Centre
  • Established in 2008 to research on issues pertaining to the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an institution and a process.
  • Singapore APEC Study Centre
  • Established in 1994 to research, disseminates information, facilitates discussions on APEC-related issues, and promotes linkages with other APEC Study Centres.
  • Temasek History Research Centre
  • Established in 2019 to research Singapore's pre-modern history, its economic and socio-cultural links to the region, as well as its historical role as a trading centre.

ISEAS Publishing

The publishing arm of the institution has produced more than 2,000 titles, consisting of books and journals, since the early 1970s.{{Cite web |date= |title=ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/what-we-publish/publishing-partners/iseas |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=Cambridge University Press}} ISEAS Publishing is the largest scholarly publisher of research about south-east Asia and Asia-Pacific from within the region and works with many other academic and trade publishers and distributors to disseminate important research and analyses from and about south-east Asia to the rest of the world. In recent years, ISEAS has published an average of 50 new titles a year. In addition, ISEAS Publishing issues the institute's three tri-annual academic journal: Journal of Southeast Asian Economies;{{Cite web |date= |title=Journal of Southeast Asian Economies on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/journal/jsouthasiaeconom |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=JSTOR}}{{Project MUSE|347|type=journal}} Journal of Southeast Asian Economies Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia;{{Cite web |date= |title=Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/journal/sojourn |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=JSTOR}} and Contemporary Southeast Asia,{{Cite web |date= |title=Contemporary Southeast Asia on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/journal/contsoutasia |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=JSTOR}} as well as the annual Southeast Asian Affairs.{{Cite web |date= |title=Southeast Asian Affairs |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/series/southeast-asian-affairs/D5E510F5174D74429360DD194D5E9891 |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=Cambridge University Press}}

ISEAS books and journals are distributed to over 100 countries worldwide, and are available in both electronic and print versions, via the bookshop located within the institute, and its website.{{Cite web |title=Home – bookshop.iseas.edu.sg |url=https://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg/ |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=ISEAS Bookshop}}

ISEAS Library

The library houses over half a million items related to south-east Asia in the area of economics, politics, international relations, culture, and social studies. The collections, built up over decades, are both historical and contemporary, including a range of multimedia titles.{{Cite web |date=2016-12-08 |title=ISEAS Library |url=https://www.iseas.edu.sg/library/iseas-library/ |access-date=2020-03-12 |website=ISEAS}}

The ISEAS library is open to all members of the public interested in the study of the south-east Asian region.

References

{{Reflist}}