The East Asian Institute (EAI) is an autonomous research institute and

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

of the National University of Singapore (NUS), that focuses on the political, social and

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

development in

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. As of 2022, the institute's chairman and director are Teh Kok Peng and Bert Hofman respectively.

History

The institute was founded in April 1997. It succeeded the former Institute of East Asian Political Economy (IEAPE). The IEAPE was itself the successor of the Institute of East Asian Philosophies, founded in 1983 for the study of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

Goh Keng Swee Goh Keng Swee (; 6 October 1918 – 14 May 2010), born Robert Goh Keng Swee, was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1973 and 1985. Goh is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of Singa ...

, the then- Minister for Education and Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. The Institute of East Asian Philosophies (IEAP) was formed after a panel of scholars was asked by the Government to make recommendations on the teaching of Confucian ethics to secondary school students. It received a donation of $3 million from a Hong Kong industrialist, John Tung, who also joined the institute's board. Several prominent scholars based in other countries, such as

Tu Wei-ming Tu Weiming (born 1940) is a Chinese-born American philosopher. He is Chair Professor of Humanities and Founding Director of the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies at Peking University. He is also Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow of Asi ...

and Yu Ying Shih, served as board members of the institute and consultants on the development of the teaching curriculum. The scholar and academic

Wu Teh Yao Wu Teh Yao (, 1915–17 April 1994) was a Chinese political scientist. He was an educator and a specialist in Confucianism and political science. Education Wu completed his senior school certificate at the Anglo-Chinese School in Penang at the a ...

was a director of the IEAP.

References

External links

Homepage of the East Asian Institute
{{Coord, 1.3195, 103.8150, display=title Economy of East Asia Economy of Southeast Asia National University of Singapore Politics of East Asia Politics of Southeast Asia Research institutes in Singapore