Apr 24,2017 Special Forum

The Case of Russia

When Russian and Japanese foreign and defense ministers met in Tokyo in mid-March for their 2+2 discussions, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sensed the presence of a third party obstructing Russo-Japanese friendship. He told Japanese colleagues of his “concerns regarding consistent tendencies to a bloc approach” to Asia-Pacific security. Russia, Lavrov explained, promotes measures “with China […]

Chris Miller

annexation of Crimea , Cold War , Korean War , military alliance , nuclear proliferation , regime change , sanctions , Six-Party Talks , THAAD , TPP

Mar 27,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (March 2017)

On February 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried an Interfax interview with Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov on Russian Asia policies in the past year. He cited as the biggest event the May Sochi summit with the members of ASEAN. A second important event was carrying the entry of India and Pakistan into the […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

Abe Shinzo , APEC , ASEAN , Cold War , Denuclearization , Eastern Economic Forum , globalization , Greater Eurasia , India , Kuril Islands

Feb 24,2017 Open Forum

The Limitations of “Global Korea’s” Middle Power

2010 was a pivotal year for the Republic of Korea: as host of the G20 Leaders’ Summit—the first non-G7 and non-Western country to do so—the relatively small country earned international recognition as a significant force in the global arena. If the 1988 Seoul Olympics was South Korea’s debut on the international stage, then the Seoul […]

Balbina Y. Hwang

anti-globalization , BRICS , Cold War , G20 , G7 , impeachment , liberalism internationalism , middle power , Middle Power Diplomacy , MIKTA

Feb 09,2017 Special Forum

A Multipolar Nuclear Asia in the Trump Era

On December 22, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump used his electronic bully pulpit to opine on nuclear weapons policy. “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses,” he tweeted, seemingly unprovoked by any global happening.1 He likely was reacting to a series of […]

Christopher Clary

Arms Race , Cold War , Extended deterrence , first , India , military buildup , Multipolarity , mutually assured destruction , nuclear cascade , Nuclear deterrence

Oct 14,2016 Open Forum

Asian Security after US Hegemony: Spheres of Influence and the Third Wave of Regional Order

The Asian security landscape is unsettled. The region is quickly becoming multipolar. Hedging strategies—even by US allies—are now commonplace. Intra-regional trust remains low amid myriad territorial and strategic disputes. And Asia’s regional institutions remain unwilling to take on the tasks of security governance because member states will not allow it. These trends signal a region […]

Van Jackson

ASEAN , Cold War , imperialism , soft balancing , spheres of influence , THAAD

Aug 29,2016 Special Forum

Introduction to the Special Forum

Not long ago, there was talk of the “end of history,” as if the post-Cold War era gave the nations of the world—especially dynamic East Asia—a compelling opportunity to put aside troubled historical memories. Instead, history in the past quarter century has continued to divert progress toward forging a future-oriented regional community. Many looked to […]

Editorial Staff

Cold War , imperialism , militarism , Sinocentrism , Territorial Disputes , WWII

Aug 29,2016 Special Forum

Chinese views of South Korean history

On August 3, Beijing ribao depicted THAAD as not aimed at defending against North Korea, but rather splitting China from South Korea.1 On August 7, Huanqiu shibao depicted the visit of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Washington as Singapore joining in the US containment of China.2 China is rapidly adopting a polarized view of […]

Gilbert Rozman

China Dream , Cold War , communism , Koguryo , Korean War , Multipolarity , Northeast Project , regional order , Sinocentrism , Trustpolitik

Aug 24,2016 Open Forum

Washington Insights

In the summer of 2016, Washington DC has been consumed with the Clinton-Trump race and the unprecedented revolt of the Republican national security establishment against their party’s presidential candidate. Three bilateral relations have been in flux against the background of increased uncertainty about Sino-US relations.  DC discussions have in particular focused on Sino-Russian relations, while […]

Editorial Staff

alliance building , Cold War , rebalance , sanctions , Sea of Okhotsk , Shanghai Cooperation Organization , Six-Party Talks , South China Sea , THAAD

Jul 27,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (July 2016)

Three international thunderbolts of late June and early July drew intense responses in the South Korean media. The decision to deploy THAAD in South Korea was recognized as destabilizing relations with China and Russia, affecting the diplomatic balance that Seoul had been striving to cultivate since the end of the Cold War. The international court […]

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)

Cold War , Russia-China-North Korea , South China Sea , THAAD , US-Japan-South Korea

Aug 27,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario II: This Triangle Will Not Take Shape

The argument in favor of a “Sino-Russian-North Korean” triangle in Northeast Asia rests on the notion that Beijing and Moscow need North Korea for reasons that outweigh their broader political and economic interests and that North Korea has no choice but to go along with the triangular arrangement, because the alternative would be complete isolation, […]

Sergey Radchenko

Cold War , Iran nuclear deal , Regionalism , Six-Party Talks