Topics of the Month

July 13, 2013 Topics of the Month

Abe’s Visit to Moscow: Can It Become the Beginning of an End?

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s visit to Moscow on April 28-30, 2013, can generally be considered a “success,” which could be a real starting point for Japan and Russia to reach an agreement that has eluded them since the 1950s. Yet failure to act, as has occurred so many times in the past, could easily shut down this window of opportunity in a manner more conclusive than at any point since, at least, early in the 1990s.

Togo Kazuhiko
ALIANCE, ROK, US

Open Forum

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July 30, 2013 Open Forum<

Historical and Political Background of “Japan-Russia Relations after Abe-Putin Summit”

Day1 : Monday, June 24, 2013 Time Place Panel Title Panelist Affiliation 08:00-09:00 Amphitheater Foyer Registration 09:00-10:30 Opening Ceremony Amphitheater Welcoming Remarks Hahm Chaibong The Asan Institute for Policy Studies Opening Remarks Chung Mong Joon The Asan Institute for Policy Studies Keynote Speech Richard Cheney Former Vice President of the United States

Togo Kazuhiko
ALIANCE, ROK, US

Special Forum

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July 9, 2013 Special Forum

Introduction

Signs of a broken system: a classroom in Youngstown, Ohio, November 2009. (Bryan Snyder / Courtesy Reuters) In his landmark 1973 book, The Coming of Post-industrial Society, the sociologist Daniel Bell heralded the United States’ transition from a labor-intensive economy that produced goods to a knowledge-based one geared toward providing services. No longer could success be achieved through manual, assembly-line work; it would require advanced skills and creativity. At least since then, American politicians and pundits have regularly stressed that

Gilbert Rozman
ALIANCE, ROK, US
July 9, 2013 Special Forum

Another Cold War in Asia?

The biggest strategic challenge for policymakers in the Asia-Pacific is the peaceful integration of China into the international order. Within three decades, China has transformed from a rural society to the second largest economy in the world. As China continues to grow economically and its interests and influence expand, its neighboring countries and the United States will have to find a modus vivendi that fosters peaceful growth and cooperation. However, if history serves as a guide for the future, ascendance of new great powers tends to create tension, rivalry, and even war. Looking for historical analogies, some China watchers argue that with China’s rise the contours of a new cold war are beginning to take form. They see evidence for this in the arms build-up in the Asia-Pacific region, the growing rivalry over political influence, and the competing ideological and economic models that the United States and China follow and advance.

Narushige Michishita
ALIANCE, ROK, US
July 30, 2013 Special Forum

Is an Economic Cold War Emerging in Asia?

For the past 35 years, as China’s economic development accelerated in the post-Mao period, US policy towards the Asia-Pacific was aimed at fostering an environment that would gradually integrate China into the international order. Such a policy was intended to give Beijing incentives to play by a common set of rules, allow the United States and other countries to invest in and profit from China’s growth, and spur the step-by-step development of the kinds of middle class actors and economic institutions that US policymakers believed would push for liberalization, transparency, the rule of law, an open media, and political democracy.

Scott W. Harold
ALIANCE, ROK, US

Country Reports

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July 30, 2013 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea

The single event of most far-reaching significance for the Korean media was the visit of President Park Geun-hye to Beijing. Coverage focused on whether China’s policy toward North Korea is changing. Indications that it was changing had already fueled cautious optimism that the time is ripe for South Korea to make a move. As Park stated, “it is a critical time for the inter-Korean relationship” and “the way we handle the current situation will decide the fate of the Korean Peninsula, East Asia, and the World.” One observer notes that “As the Cold War ended with reunification of Germany, the twenty-first century Asia-Pacific era should start with guaranteed peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Gilbert Rozman
ALIANCE, ROK, US
July 30, 2013 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan

After Prime Minister Abe’s visit in February to the United States, Japanese sources have flitted from one problem to another in the surrounding region, but with one abiding concern: Is there a way to overcome a feeling that their country is under siege? Writings continue to confirm the seriousness of the siege, as they give somewhat different accounts of who is at fault and how to break out. They convey the impression that Japan is at the center of the region, targeted by some, active in diplomacy under Abe to resolve dilemmas in dealing with neighboring states, or in a state of denial as narrow fixations substitute for building bridges to these states.

Gilbert Rozman
ALIANCE, ROK, US
July 30, 2013 Country Reports

Country Report: China

After Prime Minister Abe’s visit in February to the United States, Japanese sources have flitted from one problem to another in the surrounding region, but with one abiding concern: Is there a way to overcome a feeling that their country is under siege? Writings continue to confirm the seriousness of the siege, as they give somewhat different accounts of who is at fault and how to break out. They convey the impression that Japan is at the center of the region, targeted by some, active in diplomacy under Abe to resolve dilemmas in dealing with neighboring states, or in a state of denial as narrow fixations substitute for building bridges to these states.

Gilbert Rozman
ALIANCE, ROK, US

Review

July 30, 2013 Review

Russian Perceptions of Sino-Russian Relations

As Stephen Blank’s article in this issue’s Special Forum makes clear, the state of Sino-Russian relations is critical to determination of the likelihood that a new cold war is beginning. After far-reaching gyrations in Moscow’s policies toward Beijing over recent decades and the brief halo of the Obama-Medvedev “reset,” many remain uncertain about the direction of Russian foreign policy. When China is more assertive toward others, do Russian foreign policy experts and officials (following the lead of Vladimir Putin) keep their distance or draw closer? One step toward answering this question is to improve our understanding of how this relationship is interpreted in Russia. Keeping the focus on one textbook published on May 27, 2013, this review article evaluates how Russian writings view the trajectory of Sino-Russian relations and the prospects for change this decade.

Gilbert Rozman
ALIANCE, ROK, US

National Commentaries