This talk examines the conceptual foundations of small states, international order, and the dynamics of order transition. It then explores the roles small states can—and cannot—play in shaping potential transformations in the international order. Particular attention is given to the challenges and opportunities facing small powers amid intensifying US-China strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific. The talk concludes with policy reflections on how small states might navigate and influence shifting regional and global orders.

Kai He is Professor of International Relations at the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Australia. He served as a non-resident Senior Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace (2022-2023), an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow (2017-2020), and a postdoctoral fellow in the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program (2009-2010). He is a co-editor of “Cambridge Elements in Indo-Pacific Security,” a short-book series published by Cambridge University Press. He has authored or co-authored seven books and edited or co-edited eight volumes. Among his notable works are After Hedging: Hard Choices for the Indo-Pacific States between the US and China (co-authored with Huiyun Feng, Cambridge Elements in IR, 2023), Contesting Revisionism: China, the United States, and Transformation of International Order (co-authored with Steve Chan, Huiyun Feng, Weixing Hu, Oxford, 2021), China’s Crisis Behavior: Political Survival and Foreign Policy (Cambridge, 2016), International Organizations and Peaceful Change in World Politics (co-edited with T.V. Paul and Anders Wivel, Cambridge, 2025). His forthcoming book is The Upside of U.S.-Chinese Strategic Competition: Institutional Balancing and Order Transition in the Asia Pacific (co-authored with Huiyun Feng, Cambridge University Press, 2025). He has also published in Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, The Diplomat, Australian Outlook, and East Asia Forum, among other policy-oriented outlets.