Stephen Nagy's latest edited volume (jointly with Indu Saxena) focuses on the changing regional security dynamics of Southeast Asia within the context of the U.S.-China strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

On the one hand, China’s growing influence and assertive behavior in the South China Sea and the Archipelago region are the main concerns of these countries.

On the other hand, Southeast Asian countries are skeptical—if not hesitant—with the formation of new mini-lateral frameworks and emerging institutional cooperation such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and AUKUS.

In this highly competitive strategic environment, these countries prefer to position themselves in a flexible mode of sometimes leaning toward the United States or China based on a nuanced balance of maintaining both strategic autonomy and opportunities that manifest in the region.

In line with this flexible mode of engagement, Southeast Asian countries prefer to eschew an explicitly pro-position vis-à-vis the United States or China, cognizant of the turbulence ahead due to the deepening of U.S.–China strategic competition—this, despite the fact that freedom of navigation and a rule-based international order is much desired by Southeast Asian countries to establish and maintain peace and stability in the region.

Speaker Profile

Dr. Stephen Nagy received his PhD in International Relations/Studies from Waseda University in 2008. His main affiliation is as a professor at the International Christian University, Tokyo.

Stephen is also a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI); a visiting fellow with the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA); a senior fellow at the MacDonald Laurier Institute (MLI); and a senior fellow with the East Asia Security Centre (EASC).

He also serves as the Director of Policy Studies for the Yokosuka Council of Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS) spearheading their Indo-Pacific Policy Dialogue series.

Stephen is currently working on middle power approaches to great power competition in the Indo-Pacific, understanding Japanese foreign policy and Sino-Japanese relations.

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