icnb 2026 Roundtable discussion

Kompass Global Leadership Roundtable on Nation-Building, Wellness and Peace in a World of Blurred Morality

In an era where truth is contested, ethics are negotiable, and trust is rapidly eroding, nations are confronted with a new and complex challenge: the blurring of morality. Global competition, digital manipulation, polarised politics, commercialised wellness, and widening inequalities have created a world where moral boundaries are no longer clear. Decisions that once seemed straightforward—how we govern, how we care for one another, how we pursue development—now exist in shades of grey.

Moderator:

Dr Don Nakornthab,
Assistant Governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of Thailand

Roundtable discussion:

1. Mr Jaejin Han
Executive Director of the Asia Water Council, Republic of Korea

2. HE Korn Dabbaransi
64th Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand

3. HE Prof Dr Krasae Chanawongse
89th Minister attached to the Office of the Prime Minister of Thailand

Main idea: Blurred morality presents a civilizational challenge that collapses our shared moral compass and erodes the vital trust capital required for societal unity, long-term sustainability, and cooperation.
Important points:

Collapse of the shared moral compass:
When morality is blurred, people lose the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, directly impacting current and future generations at family, community, and religious levels.
Rise of self-interest over the common good:
Without clear morality, societies tend to glorify individual success at any cost, focusing strictly on personal benefit rather than collective integrity.
Erosion of trust capital and social cohesion:
A lack of moral consensus causes fragmented societies, decreasing public trust in institutions, dismantling social solidarity, and lessening individual sacrifice for the common good.
Decline in institutional legitimacy:
When institutions lose moral grounding, their credibility disappears, replaced by public cynicism and a severe lack of confidence in leadership.
Threat to long-term sustainability:
Historically, the erosion of moral foundations has been the core driver behind the collapse of civilizations; short-term shortcuts inevitably trigger long-term political and economic turmoil.

4. Prof Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, PhD, DPhil
Chairman of the Nation-Building International Institute

Main idea: Maintaining national security and peace amid shifting geopolitical realities can force a country to continually adapt the interpretation of its core moral and pacifist legal frameworks without changing the text itself.
Important points:

Evolution of Article 9 interpretation:
Japan’s idealistic pacifism has survived without constitutional amendment by gradually reinterpreting its absolute constraints to accommodate shifting geopolitical demands.
Shift from police to external defense:
Prompted by global escalations like the Korean War, Japan navigated constitutional restrictions by upgrading its domestic police reserves to the modern Self-Defense Forces.
The collective self-defense loophole:
While the constitution traditionally barred deploying forces to defend other nations, recent legal interpretations allow collective action if an attack on an ally (like the US) directly threatens Japan’s existence.
Financial contribution vs. military deployment:
Historically, Japan used Article 9 as a shield against global pressure to join combat (e.g., the Gulf War), opting for massive financial packages instead of human deployment, which was largely unappreciated internationally.
The rise of preemptive and defense spending:
Due to modern threats, the country is significantly escalating its defense budget toward 2% of GDP and exploring laws for preemptive strikes, pushing the boundaries of its ultra-pacifist foundations.

5. HE Masaharu Nakagawa
12th Minister of Education, Culture and Sports of Japan

Main idea: In a fractured global order where major power rivalries have disrupted open capitalism, countries must prioritize economic security through targeted strategies while eliminating systemic corruption.
Important points:

Disruption of the global order:
The rules-based multilateralism, liberal mission, and open economic structures established after WWII are heavily strained by modern weaponization of trade and technology.
Priority of the "Three As":
National economic strategies must adapt to prioritize Availability first, Affordability second, and Acceptability third, especially regarding food and energy security.
Taxation, subsidization, and innovation:
To ensure fair distribution and sustainability, governments must utilize tax and subsidy mechanisms alongside eco-friendly innovations to minimize environmental impacts.
Cluster development for growth:
Nations can maintain and enhance global competitiveness by creating dense clusters of innovation and know-how within selected industrial and service sectors.
Corruption as societal poison:
Social responsibility cannot exist without a collective commitment to completely destroy corruption, which acts as a direct toxin to economic nation-building.

6. HE Dr Narongchai Akrasanee
44th Minister of Commerce of Thailand

Main idea: Humanity is at a civilizational crossroads where global governance and international bodies like the United Nations require deep structural and moral reform to manage an interdependent world effectively.
Important points:

Outdated institutional design:
The United Nations was built around the geopolitical realities of 1945 and is no longer properly equipped to manage modern social fragmentation, environmental crises, and shifting power structures.
Inclusion of the Global South:
True trust-building on a global scale requires incorporating emerging and developing countries into higher-level decision-making processes.
Transboundary health and environmental cooperation:
The pandemic proved that isolated governance fails; global bodies must strengthen shared networks for climate adaptation, public health, and technological ethics.
Security Council reform and the veto power:
Restoring global confidence requires expanding Security Council membership and moving toward true consensus, rather than relying on the selective veto privileges of a few nations.
Three fundamental global principles:
Sustainable peace relies on accepting that peace requires dialogue, economic development requires absolute inclusion, and humanity ultimately shares a common destiny.

7. Mr Ravi Sawhney, IAS
Former Principal Officer of United Nations ESCAP

Main idea: Private businesses carry a massive social responsibility to lead by example, building ethical workplace cultures that look beyond mere legal compliance to actively foster public trust.
Important points:

Businesses as cultural shapers:
Corporate choices send explicit messages to the community regarding what behavior is rewarded, meaning companies heavily dictate a society's ethical baseline.
Playing the "long game" over shortcuts:
Operating with strict integrity and refusing corrupt shortcuts (like bribery) yields greater sustainable business growth and institutional trust in the long run.
Cascading ethical workplace leadership:
Transparent, fair, and accountable corporate executives create a trickling down of values that employees eventually carry home to their families.
Public-private partnerships:
Governments establish legal frameworks, but joint initiatives with the private sector breathe practical life into anti-corruption, technology governance, and environmental stewardship.
New frontiers in ethical tech:
Emerging landscapes like artificial intelligence, biotech, and data privacy will pose complex moral questions that require proactive, value-driven corporate leadership.

8. Mr Simon Moran
President of Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce, Chair Labassa Holdings

Main idea: While quantifiable data shows an overall decline in national moral behavior, transforming the local ecosystem from the bottom up can repair societal values and solve systemic problems
Important points:

Quantifying the abstract through a moral index:
Morality does not have to remain a completely abstract concept; it can be calculated into a trackable index across different demographics and regions.
The "Moral Credit Bank" solution:
Local communities can successfully eliminate informal household debt by establishing community charters that incentivize and reward positive, ethical economic behavior.
The behavioral decline vs. positive mindset paradox:
National data reveals that while actual moral behavior has slightly declined across multiple generations, the foundational "positive mindset" and desire for family power remain high.
Bottom-up strengthening through assemblies:
Fostering networks across public, private, religious, and youth sectors allows communities to scale localized good deeds into national commitments.
Province-by-province navigational tracking:
Providing regional governors with distinct moral index data allows local leadership to target specific societal vulnerabilities and build localized change agents.

9. Assoc Prof Suriyadeo Tripathi, MD
Director of Center for Morality Promotion (Public Organization)