Island in the World: Singapore's Geopolitical DNA

“Island in the World provides an insightful discussion on how Singapore has both contributed to Asean and leveraged its Asean membership to pursue its global, regional and national interests. Having played multiple roles, from an academic and a think tanker to a policymaker in government, Simon Tay offers perspectives on Asean that have both breadth and depth.”
—H E Kao Kim Hourn, 15th Secretary-General for Asean (2023–27)

“In incisive political commentaries penned over a decade, Singaporean statesman and scholar Simon Tay illuminates the sweeping geopolitical and economic shifts that have shaped the world through multiple lenses — Singapore's domestic politics, Asean's regional dynamics, and great power competition. This collection of elegantly written essays conveys not only the current complexity and uncertainty but also welcomes optimism for the future.”
—Elizabeth Charissa Economy, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Senior Advisor for China to the Secretary of Commerce in the Biden administration

“Simon Tay is one of Singapore's leading independent voices on global affairs. In Island in the World, he brings decades of experience to bear on the forces shaping the city-state's role in a fast-changing, often chaotic world. Whether reflecting on Asean relations or the future of Singaporean identity, Tay is a trusted guide for readers seeking honest and forward-looking perspectives.”
—Mercedes Ruehl, Financial Times Correspondent covering Southeast Asia and Singapore (2020–2025)

“This collection, with its insights and ideas to help us all navigate through the current global polycrisis, brings to my mind the many conversations I have had with the author over the last few decades, where he has always come across as learned and balanced with a strong desire to see a thriving Singapore and South East Asia.”
—Abhisit Vejjajiva, 27th Prime Minister of Thailand

“Island in the World is an essential reading on Singapore's contribution to global governance. It is an exploration of the country's foreign policy evolution and navigation of geopolitical shifts. Undeterred by conformist thinking, Simon Tay combines scholarly depth and first-hand experience with geopolitical acumen. Like Singapore, he exemplifies how small states and quiet intellectuals wield significant influence in global thinking.”
—Ashok Mirpuri, Former Singapore Ambassador to the United States and Indonesia, Former High Commissioner to Malaysia and Australia

Simon S C Tay, LLM (Harvard), LLB Hons (NUS) is a public intellectual focusing on international and public affairs.

He chairs the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, a leading independent think tank in Asia. Simon is concurrently an associate professor in the National University of Singapore at both the Faculty of Law and the LKY School of Public Policy, and senior consultant with a major Singaporean law firm. He has taught at Harvard Law School, Yale University and the Fletcher School. In 2009, he was based at the Asia Society in New York City as the Schwartz Fellow and continues as the Society's Global Council co-chair.

A former Nominated Member of Parliament and chair of a major statutory board, Simon continues to serve as an ambassador for Singapore. He also initiated the Singapore Volunteers Overseas, the country's equivalent of the Peace Corps.

He has written or edited five books on international law and public policy and contributed to leading academic journals and newspapers. He has appeared on BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, and CNN, as well as spoken at major global forums, including the World Economic Forum (Davos) and the APEC CEO Summit.

He is also an award-winning author of stories and essays. Simon has received the Singapore Literature Prize and the 2019 Southeast Asia Write Award for his fiction and poetry.