Selina Ho

Selina Ho is one of Asia’s leading scholars on Chinese foreign policy and Southeast Asian geopolitics. Her research explains not only how China projects power, but also how smaller states respond, negotiate and preserve their own agency. At a time when geopolitical competition is often reduced to rivalry between great powers, she offers a more nuanced view of the forces reshaping Asia’s political and economic order.

Ho is Vice Dean (Research and Development), Dean’s Chair and Associate Professor in International Affairs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She bridges comparative politics and international relations. Her research draws on both disciplines to explain how domestic politics, regional diplomacy and strategic competition shape state behaviour.

Rather than treating infrastructure, trade and water as purely economic issues, Selina Ho shows how they have become instruments of statecraft. She examines how China expands its influence through connectivity, infrastructure and shared river systems. She also demonstrates that Southeast Asian states are far from passive. They bargain, adapt and shape outcomes to protect their own interests.

Ho’s scholarship challenges conventional thinking on power and governance. In Thirsty Cities, she argues that social contracts, rather than regime type alone, shape governments’ political priorities. In Rivers of Iron, she examines how the Belt and Road Initiative is reshaping regional politics. She reveals both the opportunities it creates and the trade-offs it brings for sovereignty, development and strategic autonomy.

Beyond China’s rise, Selina Ho is a leading voice on ASEAN, regional resilience and Asia’s changing balance of power. Her research found that while China commands significant influence, Southeast Asia’s elites continue to place their trust in ASEAN to preserve autonomy and strategic balance. Her work continues to shape debates on how middle and smaller powers can navigate intensifying US-China competition without compromising their independence.