December 19,2014 Open Forum

International Peace in Asia: Will it Endure?

International Peace in Asia: Will it Endure? 1 Post 1945 Asia has been conflict ridden.2 Between 1945 and 2010, there were a total of 71 major wars (in which battle deaths exceed 1,000), of which 15 were inter-state wars, 47 intrastate wars, 6 wars of liberation against colonial rule, and 3 non-state wars. There were also approximately 23 minor inter-state wars (25 to 999 battle deaths) and 2..

Muthiah Alagappa
Armed peace , deterrence , international legitimacy , sovereignty , trust-building
December 01,2014 Special Forum

From Look East to Act East: Transitions in India’s Eastward Engagement

India’s “Look East Policy”, rechristened as the “Act East Policy” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government,1 has been lauded as the country’s most successful foreign policy initiative taken in the past two decades.2 Modi expanded its scope and focus after sensing that Phase I and Phase II of the “Look East Policy” could not achieve their ful..

Rahul Mishra
Act East Policy , Civilian nuclear cooperation agreement , hedging against China , Look East , Regional and maritime connectivity , security agreement
October 21,2014 Special Forum

Japan’s Foreign Policy toward Northeast Asia as Seen in Chinese Publications

In the past few years, China and Japan have been experiencing serial difficulties in their relations, beyond anything seen since normalization in 1972. Chinese writings on Japan’s foreign policy are, correspondingly, proliferating with emotional articles imbued with strong nationalism far outnumbering others based on cool-headed calculation of national interests. Articles on bilateral relations..

Cheng Xiaohe*
August 11,2014 Open Forum

The Asan Forum on the Occasion of Its First Anniversary

A new journal in a crowded field at a time when specialists on ongoing international relations in the Asia-Pacific are inundated with online information does not readily attract attention. I often encounter persons with an abiding interest in this area who have yet to hear about the journal. Others may have seen it once or twice, aware of something newly posted in the journal but with little sense..

Gilbert Rozman
June 18,2014 Review Article

‘Wronged by Empire: Post-Imperial Ideology and Foreign Policy in India and China’

Manjari Miller, Wronged by Empire: Post-Imperial Ideology and Foreign Policy in India and China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2013) As Asia emerges at the center of international politics, China and India, each with a history of both glory as a cradle of civilization and humiliation as a colony or “semi-colony,” are perceived as on a journey back to their days as a center of civ..

Han Minjeong*
May 23,2014 National Commentaries

America Reengages Asia

In late April 2014, President Barack Obama paid his fifth official visit to Asia—a tour of four nations intended to reassure nervous allies of America’s commitment to them, to send signals to China that the United States was standing fast in its regional presence and commitments, and to provide tangible proof of Washington’s “pivot” (or “rebalancing”) policy towards the region. On al..

David Shambaugh
China containment tour , effusive receptions , people-to-people ties , realigned force posture , strengthening alliances , TPP
January 25,2014 Special Forum

India’s Evolving National Identity Contestation: What Reactions to the “Pivot” Tell Us

Despite the massive transformations that have been underway in India’s economic and strategic realms since 1991, this article argues that the changes predicted by the realist theory of international relations have not occurred and are not likely anytime soon. India has posed a difficult case for realists since the country’s independence. Earlier, it bucked the trend of bipolar alliances that w..

Deepa M. Ollapally
Autonomy , civilizational entitlement , civilizational humiliation , realism , sovereignty , the rebalance
January 20,2014 Country Reports

Russia (January 2014)

At year-end there were many wrap-up articles issued in Russia. The big picture is seen through the prism of Sino-US relations and Russia’s decision to veer to the East. Japan drew more attention than usual. Articles also focused on territorial disputes, the Korean Peninsula, and Vietnam. A balance was struck between reticence to criticize China and affirmation of Russia’s own approach to vario..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)