The Centre’s research agenda focuses on two broad areas, the management of global issues and innovations in national and subnational governance. The Centre’s study of global governance involves analysing the changing nature of sovereignty and world order, and the explosion of innovative efforts to grapple with border-crossing issues. At the national and subnational levels, the Centre’s research agenda explores how newly emerging modes of governance in the Asia-Pacific are reconfiguring state-society relations. Our research projects include:

The S.T. Lee Project on Global Governance
The S.T. Lee Project on Global Governance brings together the top thinkers and practitioners from Asia and the West to develop new approaches to global governance and generate recommendations on how to govern a globalising world that includes a rising Asia.

Multilateral Institutions
CAG’s interest in multilateral institutions revolves around understanding shifts in the policies of organisations such as the World Bank, the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation. The research focuses on the effectiveness of such shifts, especially in areas of governance, labour, health and energy.

Energy Policy
Renewable energy technologies face immense social, political, regulatory, and economic barriers. Research at CAG examines the various policy mechanisms that have worked in promoting renewables in Europe and North America, and explores the costs and benefits of each approach in the specific context of Southeast Asia.

Global Institutions of Energy Governance
No organisational infrastructure exists to support the global conversation that is now badly needed about how to move the world onto a sustainable path that provides appropriate, reliable, and affordable energy services. Research at CAG examines the roles played by existing international organisations and explores alternative ways to govern the provision of energy services.

Public Roles of the Private Sector
Sections of the private sector are demonstrating a willingness to address issues traditionally outside their domain. These include environmental sustainability and human rights, among others. CAG’s research contributes to the debate on the evolving rights and responsibilities of business, focusing on how this global trend unfolds in Asia.

Regionalism
The Centre focuses on regionalism within several research streams. This entails looking at issues such as the impact of regional energy projects and alternative visions of regional governance. We also examine the role of regional social movements and state and non-state actors.

Pipelines
As part of CAG’s concentration on energy issues, the Centre has established a research agenda exploring the political economy of pipelines. This work involves analysis of two pipeline projects: the trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

Social Innovation
The Social Innovation Program (SIP) at the Centre on Asia and Globalisation will focus on the social innovation taking place at the intersection of public, private and civil societies in Asia. The SIP will be dedicated to the research, study and promotion of sustainable social enterprises within Asia.

Transparency and Access to Information
Across Asia, countries are actively debating the merits and processes involved in establishing access to information legislation. The Centre examines the diversity of ways in which governments, civil society and the private sector are using transparency as a governance tool, and what the variations across countries reveal about state-society relations, governance and accountability in Asia.