Theodore Lai is a researcher at the Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Theodore studied political philosophy at the University of Chicago and Yale-National University of Singapore College. His research examines how public debates framed through narratives of rational justification can possibly lead to their deployment in self-defeating ways and ultimately dis-empower political movements.

His interest in water policy lies in the politics of discourse surrounding material emergencies and environmental change, and the ethics behind procuring, distributing, and regulating natural resources.