Dr Rahman Yaacob

Research Fellow, Southeast Asia Program
Dr Rahman Yaacob
Biography
Publications

Dr Abdul Rahman Yaacob is a Research Fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute. His research interests include Southeast Asia’s defence and security issues and the region’s relations with major powers.

Before joining the Lowy Institute, Rahman completed a PhD at the National Security College, Australian National University. His dissertation examined Singapore’s defence policy and analysed the broader strategic and security issues relating to ASEAN during the Cold War. During his PhD program and with two other project members, Rahman was a lead investigator on a project funded by a grant from the Australian Army Research Centre. The project focused on understanding Southeast Asian security concerns and explored the potential areas for closer defence cooperation between Australia and its northern neighbours. He was also an Academic Staff member and lectured in the ASEAN-Australia Defence Postgraduate Scholarship Program at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, ANU. From 2020 to 2023, he was a Teaching Fellow at the Australian Command and Staff Course, Australian War College.

Before commencing his PhD program, Rahman served nearly 18 years with the Government of Singapore. He held various command and staff postings in security-related areas and received several awards, including Ministerial Awards for Operational Excellence and a Commendation for the Rejection of Bribe.

Will ASEAN’s first joint military exercise prepare it for future crises?
Commentary
Will ASEAN’s first joint military exercise prepare it for future crises?
Originally published in Channel News Asia, 27 September 2023.
ASEAN’s first joint military exercise
ASEAN’s first joint military exercise
A pyrrhic military cooperation or building capability for future contingency?
AUKUS brings more than nuclear submarines to Southeast Asia
Commentary
AUKUS brings more than nuclear submarines to Southeast Asia
Originally published in East Asia Forum. The AUKUS agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia significantly shifts Australia’s defence strategy and…
ASEAN, China and the trust deficit
ASEAN, China and the trust deficit
The gap between rhetoric and action is Beijing’s biggest problem – and the region showed it isn’t afraid to call this out.
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