The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has compelled the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies on the European continent to rethink long-standing security assumptions and theoretical frameworks that had taken shape since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the emergence of a unipolar world order. The war has shaken the foundations of European security and accelerated debates about Europe’s strategic responsibility in defending sovereignty, democracy, and the rules-based international order. In response, European states have increased defence spending, deepened military cooperation, and taken steps towards building a more cohesive security and unified foreign policy posture.
As Europe confronts the new geopolitical realities of the post-Covid era and the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, major policy shifts are under way to address both the security and economic impacts of the conflict. Defence budgets across NATO member states have risen to levels unprecedented since the end of the Cold War, with Germany’s historic Zeitenwende (turning point) marking a decisive break from an era of a pacifist security policy orientation. The substantial increase in defence expenditure across European countries enables the bloc to assume a broader role in the world as a security provider beyond its immediate territorial boundaries. These shifts signal the emergence of a stronger Europe, not only as a cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic defence, but also as a contributor to security and regional stability in the Indo-Pacific against the backdrop of an evolving new world order.
This special seminar, held in conjunction with the 35th anniversary of German Reunification and the 60th anniversary of Singapore–Germany diplomatic relations, will explore these dynamics. It brings together Prof. Dr Carlo Masala and Ambassador Prof. Chan Heng Chee to discuss why a stronger Europe matters for Asia and how it may help shape a rules-based international order in a brave new world.
About the Speakers
Professor Chan Heng Chee is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. She is Ambassadorat-Large with the Singapore Foreign Ministry and holds the appointment of Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities in the Singapore University of Technology and Design. She was appointed a Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights in 2012 and continues to serve in that position. Ambassador Chan is the Deputy Chairman of the Social Science Research Council in Singapore. She is a Member of the Science of Cities Committee (National Research Foundation). She is a Trustee of the National University of Singapore, and of Yale-NUS College. In 2022 Ambassador Chan was appointed a Trustee of the University of the Arts Singapore. She is the Global Co-chair of Asia Society and a Board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Professor Carlo Masala studied Political Science, German and Romance Philology. He received his doctorate in 1996. After a substitute professorship at the Geschwister-Scholl-Institute of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich in 2003, he moved to the NATO Defense College in Rome at the beginning of 2004, where he worked in the research department, first as Research Advisor and from 2006 as Deputy Director. In March 2007, he was appointed as Professor of International Politics (since 2025 redesignated as a Professorship for Security and Defence Policy) at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich. Furthermore, he is the director of the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies, director of the Metis Institute for Strategy and Foresight and project director of the Center for Crisis Early Warning at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich.
