Crisis of the Asian Century with Vasuki Shastry

Welcome to the Policy People Podcast. In this conversation, I delve into the major socio-economic headwinds that are threatening to derail Asia’s rise with Vasuki Shastry. We discuss the incentives for global elites to hype Asia’s rise, the ‘thought leadership mafia’, the threat of deglobalization to Asia’s growth, Asia’s ‘Eight Hells’ and some ways to escape them, generation and gender divides across the mega-region, the differences between policy programs that promote social mobility vis-a-vis poverty alleviation, the surprising similarities between socio-economic issues in Asia and the West, the problem of ‘Asia’ as a monolithic geo-cultural abstraction, the case for a new set of Asian values, the impact of COVID on Asia’s development and many more topics.You can listen to the episode right away in the audio player embedded above, or right below it you can click “Listen in podcast app” — which will connect you to the show’s feed. Alternatively, you can click the icons below to listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you enjoy this conversation and would like to help the show, leaving us a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts is the easiest way to do so.Thank you to Manoj Kumar Panigrahi for leaving this review this week…To give us a review, just go to Policy People on Apple Podcasts and hit ‘Write a Review’.Vasuki Shastry is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and the author of “Has Asia Lost It? Dynamic Past, Turbulent Future”. In addition to his think tank work, Vasuki is ESG and Strategic Communications Advisor at Gateway Partners, a venture capital firm. His experience spans two decades in multilateral institutions and international banking, including time spent as Head of Public Affairs at both Standard Charter Bank and the IMF. Vasuki specializes in global government relations, crisis communications, digital governance, and international trade. He is also the author of Resurgent Indonesia — From Crisis to Confidence. You can find his book here on Amazon or read his articles at chathamhouse.org. You can also connect with Vasuki on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter at the handle @vshastry. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit policypeople.substack.com