December 19,2014 Review Article

‘The Oxford Handbook of the International Relations of Asia’

Saadia Pekkanen, John Ravenhill and Rosemary Foot, eds., Oxford Handbook of the International Relations of Asia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014) Broad implications of the emergence of a new regional order are brought to light in The Oxford Handbook of The International Relations of Asia, an impressive collection by many of the international relations (IR) field’s leading scholars on co..

Steven Denney
Asia Paradox , economic hub , regional bifurcation
December 15,2014 Open Forum

The Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI): A Vision toward Sustainable Peace and Cooperation in Northeast Asia

The security environment in the Asia-Pacific is in flux. South Korea is facing the most serious and complex external security environment since the end of the Cold War. Tensions have risen remarkably in Northeast Asia in recent years, sparking growing concern in the international community and among the major players in the region. China's unilateral declaration of its Air Defense Identification Z..

Lee Sang-Hyun*
Asia Paradox , NAPCI , regional collective security framework , South Korea , trust-building , trustpolitiks
December 11,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (December 2014)

As Abe stumbled in the fall of 2014, his defenders grew more aggressive. Initiatives to Russia, North Korea, and China faced one sort of problem or another. Even as Abe reactivated his pursuit of Putin, he was put in the awkward position in Brisbane of a G7 warning, which Japan could not avoid joining, against further Russian aggression, as Putin’s support for separatists in Ukraine threatened t..

Editorial Staff
AIIB , history issues , Japanese Abductees , normal state , Ukraine
December 08,2014 Topics of the Month

Comparative Southeast Asian Military Modernization – II

Regional Leadership through Strength?: Indonesian Foreign and Security Policies in Southeast Asia With the enthusiasm surrounding the election of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, some have again speculated as to whether Indonesia will become the regional leader in Southeast Asia. That was the central question behind Joseph Chinyong Liow’s “Can Indonesia Fulfill Its Aspirations to Regiona..

Felix K. Chang
maritime interests , mediator , militarization , South China Sea
December 01,2014 Special Forum

The Russian Pivot to Asia

Vladimir Putin’s “turn to the East” (povorot na Vostok) greatly intensified in 2014. Of the various pivots to Asia it is one of the most controversial, but, at various times, was encouraged by all countries active in the region. Compared to the others, it has the most diversified objectives, but also the greatest contradictions among them. In the context of multiple pivots, this one has the ..

Gilbert Rozman
APEC summit , Eurasian Economic Union , Eurasianism , Russian Far East Development , Silk Road Economic Belt , turn to the East
November 21,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2014)

Russian articles on Russia’s “turn to the East” are full of confidence, concentrate on the big picture, and constantly repeat assumptions hardened over the previous half-year. Rather than reflect on Russia’s isolation, they insist that the West is isolated in the international community. Instead of identifying difficulties in the acceptance of Russia into East Asia, they emphasize failures..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
BRICS , India , international relations framework , Russo-Japanese relations , Southeast Asia , turn to the East
November 10,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (November 2014)

South Korean newspapers have recently focused on parallels in international relations. As they follow developments in Ukraine and Hong Kong and keep their gaze on North Korea, they are alert to similarities that can influence the foreign policy of the Park administration. The most significant overlaps are found between Ukraine and South Korea. The former is situated on a civilizational fault line ..

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)
Agreed Framework , Civilizations , Hong Kong , Regionalism , reorganization of Asia , THAAD , Ukraine
November 09,2014 Topics of the Month

Civilizational Divides and Regional Confrontations – 3

Both Gilbert Rozman and Francois Godement’s articles are stimulating and instructive, and it is a pleasure for me to follow up the debate. Issues raised by Rozman are real. I tend to agree with Godement that it is important to see these complicated issues both from a strategic-realist and a civilizational-constructivist perspective, in that order. If we fail to place these two perspectives in th..

Kazuhiko Togo
deterrence , dialogue , Japanese identity , Japanese-Europe dialogue , Russian identity , Ukraine civilization
October 29,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: China (October 2014)

Ukraine (Russia), South Korea, India and, as usual, Japan attracted keen attention for their potential to alter the geopolitical environment in Asia. Ukraine’s significance is its impact on Russian relations with both the United States and China. In the case of South Korea its tensions with Japan and forward-looking diplomacy with China led to questions about the strength of its alliance with th..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Dong Jiaxin*)
Civilizations , hegemonism , India , Look East policy , New Cold War , new defense guidelines , Ukraine , US-ROK alliance