ASIAN SCHOLAR is the blog of Sass Rogando Sasot. From being a homeless person sleeping in a public park in Manila, Sass ascended to become an international public speaker and an International Relations scholar educated in Hong Kong, The Hague, and Los Angeles. She earned her Combined Major in World Politics and Global Justice (magna cum laude), an interdisciplinary study of international law and international relations at Leiden University College-The Hague. She then proceeded to pursue an MA in International Relations from Leiden University, focusing on the South China Sea conflict. She is currently pursuing PhD studies in International Relations in Beijing as an ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship awardee.
Among other courses, she taught International Relations, International Negotiations, European Politics, and Policy Analysis at Maastricht University. She has also served as a student and research assistant at Leiden University in the following courses: Europe on the World Stage, the development of the EU’s foreign, security, and defence policies; Humanitarian intervention and Peace-building; and Multilateral Institutions. She worked as an analyst in a defense firm at Leiden, worked in two international non-government organisations in Europe, was a columnist for Manila Times, hosted her own public affairs show - Statecraft, and was a consultant at the National Security Council of the Philippines.
An accomplished public speaker, with over two decades of experience in various countries, presenting to diverse audiences from lay people to policymakers in both private, public institutions in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sweden, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, including in the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Her diverse evolving research interests include the South China Sea conflict, Philippine foreign policy, Chinese political culture and philosophy, relational dynamics in international relations, and Third World approaches to international law. Outside her scholarly pursuits, Sass is a a Zen Buddhist, writes poetry, into contemporary art, and electronic music.
See full CV on LinkedIn.
