by Kishore Mahbubani | May 16, 2026 | By Kishore Mahbubani
Western social science has made three metaphysical mistakes. The first was to assume that its laws and lessons were, like the physical sciences, universally applicable to all societies. Harvard Professor Theodore Levitt captured the prevailing zeitgeist well when he...
by Kishore Mahbubani | Feb 17, 2026 | By Kishore Mahbubani
In his essay “The West’s Last Chance” (January/February 2026), Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland, correctly divines the future trajectory of world order. “The global South,” he writes, “will decide whether geopolitics in the next era leans toward cooperation,...
by Kishore Mahbubani | Dec 29, 2025 | By Kishore Mahbubani
I first saw Shenzhen in 1975. I have seen it again several times, including most recently in November 2025, fifty years later. What an amazing transformation I have witnessed with my own eyes. This is why I believe Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao...
by Kishore Mahbubani | Oct 11, 2025 | By Kishore Mahbubani
Covid-19 sent a metaphysical message to humanity. We have not grasped it. What was the message? In the past, when humanity lived in 193 separate countries, it was akin to us living in 193 separate boats. Hence, if Covid-19 were to hit one boat, the others would be...
by Kishore Mahbubani | Jun 6, 2025 | By Kishore Mahbubani
While the tariffs may undermine the bloc’s growth in the short term, they are spurring increased cooperation between member states and with others US President Donald Trump’s tariffs – especially the ultra-high “reciprocal tariffs” that he says will be reintroduced on...
by Kishore Mahbubani | Jun 5, 2025 | By Kishore Mahbubani
The US economy is formidable, and Donald Trump’s tariffs may well undermine ASEAN’s growth in the short term. But, by spurring the ASEAN countries to deepen cooperation, with one another and with others, US tariffs could bring about an even more prosperous – and,...
