Charles Chao Rong Phua
CEO and Strategist-General, Charles leads Solaris Consortium of Management Consultancies to provide strategy and cross functional consulting to underserved governments, corporates and nonprofits (trisectors) with emphasis on complex problem solving where the problem may even be ill-defined, involves trisector players, needs an Agile approach towards tight strategy-tech-ops-org dev integration.
Trisector research-strategist-entrepreneur-innovation specialist with 20 years of contributions in governments, corporates and nonprofits. Pracademic-adjunct faculty in university applied problem solving programs in Singapore (NUS NTU SMU SUSS), Civil Service College, and Swiss (St Gallen) for senior undergrads, postgrads and working professionals covering urban-tech, social-tech, policy, business and trisector themed strategy and innovation.
Doctorates in public policy and strategy education (soon)
Degrees in international relations, education, accounting, systems thinking, org psychology, and law.
Executive education in strategy-innovation-entrepreneurship-sustainability-marketing from functional best from B schools: Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, LBS, Babson, Kellogg, Berkeley.
Internationally certified management consultant, certified competent facilitator, project management professional, agile-certified practitioner, DevOpsLeader, SAFe 5 program consultant, Charles fuses the best of academia and practitioner worlds in his consulting practice with emphasis on complex problems such as sector-transformation, internationalisation of SMEs, social impact and sustainability.
Fulbright fellow with resident fellowships at Brookings Institution, Columbia and John Hopkins, he is founding editor for Routledge series on Strategy, Wisdom and Skills, and has published with Routledge (including forthcoming): (1) co-edited Asian Urban Governance. Authored: (2) Strategic Pragmatism in Foreign Policy; (3) Cultural Pragmatism in US-China relations; (4) Policy Strategy-Innovation Primer; (5) Integrated Strategy in Military, Corporate, Geopolitical and Policy Domains; (6) Philosophical and Curriculum Foundations for Teaching Strategy.
Charles presides at Association for Public Affairs (empowers youth in policymaking), and curated SG100 Compass movement, government-led Singapore Model Parliament and Cabinet series as chief judge (5 years), and co-developed inaugural government-led incubator Youth Action Challenge.
Charles seeks to create and apply knowledge to practice in service of the greater public good.
Supervisors: Prof Christopher Coker, Former Head of International Relations Dept, LSE, Emeritus Prof William Wallace, LSE (Lord Wallace of Saltaire), Prof Robert Jervis, Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics, Columbia SIPA (Fulbright), and Prof Carla Freeman, Director Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Phone: +65 87586841
Trisector research-strategist-entrepreneur-innovation specialist with 20 years of contributions in governments, corporates and nonprofits. Pracademic-adjunct faculty in university applied problem solving programs in Singapore (NUS NTU SMU SUSS), Civil Service College, and Swiss (St Gallen) for senior undergrads, postgrads and working professionals covering urban-tech, social-tech, policy, business and trisector themed strategy and innovation.
Doctorates in public policy and strategy education (soon)
Degrees in international relations, education, accounting, systems thinking, org psychology, and law.
Executive education in strategy-innovation-entrepreneurship-sustainability-marketing from functional best from B schools: Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, LBS, Babson, Kellogg, Berkeley.
Internationally certified management consultant, certified competent facilitator, project management professional, agile-certified practitioner, DevOpsLeader, SAFe 5 program consultant, Charles fuses the best of academia and practitioner worlds in his consulting practice with emphasis on complex problems such as sector-transformation, internationalisation of SMEs, social impact and sustainability.
Fulbright fellow with resident fellowships at Brookings Institution, Columbia and John Hopkins, he is founding editor for Routledge series on Strategy, Wisdom and Skills, and has published with Routledge (including forthcoming): (1) co-edited Asian Urban Governance. Authored: (2) Strategic Pragmatism in Foreign Policy; (3) Cultural Pragmatism in US-China relations; (4) Policy Strategy-Innovation Primer; (5) Integrated Strategy in Military, Corporate, Geopolitical and Policy Domains; (6) Philosophical and Curriculum Foundations for Teaching Strategy.
Charles presides at Association for Public Affairs (empowers youth in policymaking), and curated SG100 Compass movement, government-led Singapore Model Parliament and Cabinet series as chief judge (5 years), and co-developed inaugural government-led incubator Youth Action Challenge.
Charles seeks to create and apply knowledge to practice in service of the greater public good.
Supervisors: Prof Christopher Coker, Former Head of International Relations Dept, LSE, Emeritus Prof William Wallace, LSE (Lord Wallace of Saltaire), Prof Robert Jervis, Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics, Columbia SIPA (Fulbright), and Prof Carla Freeman, Director Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Phone: +65 87586841
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Papers by Charles Chao Rong Phua
in the inter-war period (between First and Second World Wars). Incidentally, Woodrow Wilson was a key figure in
the theory and praxis for both disciplines. However, since then, the study of PAM and IR were separated in
substance in what was called the “great divide” in IR, the presumption that domestic and international politics are
distinct spheres that are defined by distinct organizing principles. Today, this “great divide” is being challenged
with globalization. However, the attempt of looking at the domestic aspects of IR and international aspects of PAM
stopped short of a deep inter-disciplinary discourse. Apart from labeling its international/global version of PAM
and vice versa, the scope and objectives of this inter-discipline has been under-theorized. IR can be conceptually
defined as how international affairs work while PAM as how [domestic] public affairs work. As such, both can be
seen as applied social and policy sciences aimed at tackling public problems at different levels (international,
regional and national/domestic). There are at least two complementary ways to build this inter-disciplinary
discourse: (1) what can IR offer PAM; (2) what can PAM offer IR, before a research synthesis (Harris, 2010) effort
to consolidate the similarities, differences and interesting aspects in order to lay a coherent foundation of PAM-IR
inter-discipline. For reasons of scope and space, this essay attempts to explore the latter research question. PAM
will be broadly defined as a discipline that includes sub-fields of PAM theory, Public Policy (PP) Process,
Economics, and Political-Economy of Public Policy, amongst others. In each PAM sub-field, similarities,
differences, possible overlaps with and potential intellectual borrowing for IR will be discussed.
in the inter-war period (between First and Second World Wars). Incidentally, Woodrow Wilson was a key figure in
the theory and praxis for both disciplines. However, since then, the study of PAM and IR were separated in
substance in what was called the “great divide” in IR, the presumption that domestic and international politics are
distinct spheres that are defined by distinct organizing principles. Today, this “great divide” is being challenged
with globalization. However, the attempt of looking at the domestic aspects of IR and international aspects of PAM
stopped short of a deep inter-disciplinary discourse. Apart from labeling its international/global version of PAM
and vice versa, the scope and objectives of this inter-discipline has been under-theorized. IR can be conceptually
defined as how international affairs work while PAM as how [domestic] public affairs work. As such, both can be
seen as applied social and policy sciences aimed at tackling public problems at different levels (international,
regional and national/domestic). There are at least two complementary ways to build this inter-disciplinary
discourse: (1) what can IR offer PAM; (2) what can PAM offer IR, before a research synthesis (Harris, 2010) effort
to consolidate the similarities, differences and interesting aspects in order to lay a coherent foundation of PAM-IR
inter-discipline. For reasons of scope and space, this essay attempts to explore the latter research question. PAM
will be broadly defined as a discipline that includes sub-fields of PAM theory, Public Policy (PP) Process,
Economics, and Political-Economy of Public Policy, amongst others. In each PAM sub-field, similarities,
differences, possible overlaps with and potential intellectual borrowing for IR will be discussed.
Hammond, G. T., The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security (Washington: Smithsonian Books, 2001).
Exploring the IR-PA nexus is necessary for PA students to become better generalist leaders, not just multi-sectoral in terms of public, private and people/non-profit sectors, but also in national and international levels of leadership. The IR-PA nexus will highlight less-examined poly-connections between national/international levels of analysis with public-private-people sectors. A key skill with be strategic thinking to be able to traverse from multi-sectoral national issues to multi-sectoral international issues.
A related question is also for the PA education sector to enhance theorist-practitioner collaboration. IR has made some progress in this area and the last section will explore ideas such as increasing policy-relevant research, practitioner skills training and institutionalisation of revolving door theorist-practitioner career system.
Phua examines China’s arduous journey to fit in the Westphalian system, the deep cultural misunderstandings by the West of Sunzi’s The Art of War, and attempts to offer an inside-out cultural synthesis of classical and modern Chinese thought as a proxy of their operational code, beyond the standard clichés about Confucian and Daoist thought. He builds on Jervis’ perception and misperception as well as Alastair Johnston’s cultural realism. Readers will benefit from a culturally-Chinese, western-educated and politically neutral understanding of "China as China".
An essential primer for academics, practitioners and students of international relations, diplomacy and Chinese culture.
Arguing that pragmatism is a skill much more than an attribute, Phua examines how viewing it in this way can help achieve better foreign policy outcomes. He examines and contrasts the ways in which the United States, China and Singapore have incorporated pragmatism into their approaches to foreign policy. In doing so he debunks dualistic myths around pragmatism and ideology and promotes the view of pragmatism as a skill that can be developed.
An essential primer for students, analysts and policymakers, with a fresh and practical approach to pragmatism.