Articles by Ma Haiyun

The seas are no longer free: Pirate kings and the emerging maritime order

With the Strait of Hormuz held hostage by players like Iran and the US, the notion of “state piracy” has returned to the debate, alongside rising scrutiny of countries along key waterways such as the Strait of Malacca. US academic Ma Haiyun argues that these “strait powers” may be able to convert control over maritime chokepoints into geopolitical leverage.

Ma Haiyun

06 May 2026

How civilisational politics fuels today’s wars

Academic Ma Haiyun traces the history of civilisational conflict narratives in Western strategic thinking, built on Jewish intellectual foundations, long before the rise of Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Such approaches have had a profound effect on influencing the US’s behaviour in the Middle East and spillover effects in the region.

Ma Haiyun

22 Apr 2026

Armageddon politics and the Iran war

Apocalyptic rhetoric invoked during the US-Israel war on Iran creates a powerful ideological bridge between Israel’s narratives and the mobilisation of American troops, observes academic Ma Haiyun. Such framing and shaping of the civilisational narrative is dangerous as it draws the US deeper into conflicts in the Middle East.

Ma Haiyun

09 Mar 2026

When donations decide wars: How lobbyists sway US foreign policy

US foreign policy today is greatly influenced by immigration patterns, organised lobbying and campaign finance dynamics, causing huge pendulum swings that have major consequences. Academic Ma Haiyun shares his views. 

Ma Haiyun

05 Mar 2026

Israel’s great power playbook is tempting Taiwan’s leaders

Israel has long turned great power rivalry into strategic leverage. Taiwan’s leaders now appear tempted by the same logic. But applying Israel’s playbook in East Asia could distort deterrence — and make Taipei the testing ground for escalation, cautions academic Ma Haiyun.

Ma Haiyun

23 Dec 2025

Trumpism’s racial turn: From civilisation to whiteness

In its second phase, Trumpism has evolved into a racialised political project — a 21st century reinterpretation of Aryanism — redefining American identity not through ideological conflict, as in the Cold War, but through a rigid racial ordering, argues academic Ma Haiyun.

Ma Haiyun

15 Dec 2025

America’s new partner in Damascus — and China’s strategic setback

The restoration of US–Syria relations proves to be an obstacle for China’s influence in the eastern Mediterranean, as the new Syrian government is less receptive to China. Academic Ma Haiyun says that for China, the loss of Assad and the unresolved Uighur presence in Syria reveal the limits of its Middle Eastern diplomacy.

Ma Haiyun

14 Nov 2025

ASEAN’s charm offensive wins the room, but can it win the future?

Amid global fractures, the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur stood out for its warmth and wit — from Trump’s dance to Anwar’s deft diplomacy. But beneath the charm offensive lies a deeper test: can civility and consensus keep ASEAN united in a divided world? Academic Ma Haiyun explores the topic.

Ma Haiyun

29 Oct 2025

Israel’s ‘digital bombs’: Is everyday tech becoming a weapon of war?

Israel’s digital warfare now extends from exploding pagers to cloud servers and AI tools. As global tech giants work with Israeli intelligence, academic Ma Haiyun cautions that the lines between war and civilian life — and between devices and weapons — are vanishing.

Ma Haiyun

13 Oct 2025

Survival or extinction: The Middle East’s nuclear choice

Israel’s strike in Qatar, preceded by decades of Israeli attacks and occupation of Arab territories, shows that like it or not, lasting peace can only be achieved through a nuclear balance. Without it, conventional forces are merely symbolic, unable to prevent occupation or annihilation, says academic Ma Haiyun.

Ma Haiyun

19 Sep 2025

How civilisational divides are threatening the independence of small nations

When scholars, policy makers and resistance groups adopt “civilisational” frames, they inadvertently legitimise a world order where might makes right, and cultural or religious claims override legal norms, observes academic Ma Haiyun.

Ma Haiyun

15 Sep 2025

The clash of civilisations has finally begun?

As the US abandons universal norms, civilisational powers are rising. Ma Haiyun warns this shift risks a new era of global conflict — not between nations, but between entire ways of life, where diplomacy gives way to identity and survival.

Ma Haiyun

10 Sep 2025