In: European Journal of East Asian Studies
Author: Yanitha Meena Louis
A candid and honest reflection on life, work, and the state of the world can best describe Kishore Mahbubani’s Living the Asian Century: An Undiplomatic Memoir. The book gives readers a glimpse into Mahbubani’s ‘origins’ with personal and unfiltered accounts of his time as a Singaporean diplomat. As a Southeast Asian foreign policy analyst who is acutely aware of Mahbubani’s ideological leanings in international relations, the reviewer found it rather surprising to read about his exalts of Western philosophy and beliefs in his youth.1
It was refreshing to read at the start of the book his unabashed confession that his mind originally was indeed ‘fully colonised’, to become a self-proclaimed believer in the Asian century towards the end of the book. It was a rich and arduous evolution to say the least, wonderfully captured in his narration.
Since the book is a cross between an autobiography or memoir and a collection of perspectives on foreign policy and governance, it can very easily mean different things to different people—and, quite frankly, elicit different responses based on one’s ethnic and religious persuasions. The reviewer, for one, did not appreciate Mahbubani’s blatant declaration of how he could ‘never be happy if (he) was married to a traditional Indian woman’ (p. 76). There certainly should be more responsibility and mindfulness exercised when publishing one’s personal thoughts on what can only be a stereotype—especially considering the author’s reach and influence.
In that sense, the book is peppered with self-reflections on the author’s ethnicity and community and, in hindsight, these may not be readily comprehensible, or their honesty appreciated, by non-Indian folk. Some latent references may even perpetuate mono-dimensional perspectives on the Southeast Asian Indian community, which is, in itself, incredibly diverse and complex. Nonetheless, reading Mahbubani’s accounts of the vibrant Sindhi community in Singapore was interesting and his experiences in multi-cultural Singapore, relatable.
The middle chapters are the most interesting to readers looking for the ‘diplomat’s touch’. Reading about Mahbubani’s experiences in Kuala Lumpur, Cambodia, and New York were eye-opening—not only on his personality and growth as a diplomat, but on the nature of geopolitics and international relations. Mahbubani’s account of his time in Kuala Lumpur sheds light on the intricate state of Singapore-Malaysia bilateral ties. Diplomats on both sides, quite clearly ‘children of divorce’, relied on personal relations to advance national interests, and this is beautifully captured by Mahbubani in his writing. Mahbubani’s telling of his experiences also reveal many well-known personalities around the world, some of whom he refers to as lifelong friends and mentors. This alludes to the paramountcy of personal relationships when it came to diplomacy and civil service.
Mahbubani’s experiences and perceptions of the Singapore civil service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) are riveting, for the lack of a better word. His descriptions of the founding fathers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, S. Rajaratnam, and subsequent Prime Ministers and his interactions with them are enlightening. It helps the reader contextualise Singapore’s success story post separation from Malaysia and foreign policy imperatives. There are a number of ‘easter eggs’ in Mahbubani’s account of his time as Deputy Secretary of the MFA that are very interesting. A detail that stands out to an ASEAN-watcher reader is that it was Singapore’s adept diplomacy that paved way for India’s Dialogue Partner status—independent of the ‘Pakistan factor’. It was perhaps the first incidence of ‘de-coupling’ both South Asian countries in ASEAN’S foreign policy decisions.
The chapters on his time as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) are, quite honestly, the best. It is here we witness the conceptions of Mahbubani’s Asianist dispositions, perhaps as an unintended consequence of the West’s disregard for multilateralism and, in many ways, deliberate debilitation of UN processes when it did not serve its interests. His accounts of the UN Security Council’s ‘veto weakness’ and the dire need for reform are significant and his ideas of inclusive and sustainable development with partners from Africa and other developing regions are powerful. It becomes clear that it is these experiences that have shaped Mahbubani’s thoughts and stance on the rise of the Global South and equal representation on multilateral frameworks.
The later chapters that detail Mahbubani’s time as founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) were, truthfully, not as gripping, but they do paint a picture of Mahbubani’s academic explorations—something he is most known for in recent decades. The LKYSPP is a prestigious institution, and it is to Mahbubani’s credit that it has come this far.
Kishore Mahbubani lays himself bare to his readers in this fairly short read. It is a work of heart and mind—an account of both the art and science of diplomacy. The book is an almost audacious self-description of talent, success, failure, and insecurity. Having written a number of books before this, it is unlikely that he will be best remembered for this one—though he should be. A rather remarkable life that needed many small things to conspire with one another to happen, condensed in 300 odd pages, is no easy feat, but Mahbubani, most likely with butter on his lips and a smile, has managed it quite well.
1 The views and opinions expressed in this book review are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of the author’s affiliated organisation.
This online publication was first published by Brill, 31 March 2025
