Dec 29,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario I

Being chief diplomat is one of the many roles that the president plays under the Korean political system. The chief diplomat has been missing in Korea for months since a string of mysterious scandals have incapacitated Park from performing presidential roles. Many worry that her absence on the diplomatic stage, at a volatile time of […]

Kim Jaechun*
4th nuclear test , comfort women , GSOMIA , Hwang Kyo-ahn , impeachment , Park Geun-hye , ROK National Assembly , summit diplomacy , THAAD , Trump administration
Dec 16,2016 Special Forum

Facing China: Policy Challenges for the Trump Administration in East Asia

As Donald J. Trump comes to power as the 45th president of the United States, he and his national security and foreign policy team will face significant challenges in dealing with a now-formidable and recently more assertive China. To a great extent, the problems they will encounter in dealing with China would confront any early […]

Jacques deLisle
Agreed Framework , Asia pivot , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , burden-sharing , Charm offensive , constitutional revisionism , cross-Strait relations , Denuclearization , East China Sea , FTAAP
Dec 16,2016 Special Forum

Japanese Media on the Impact of Donald Trump’s Election on Japan and China

Japanese awakened to Donald Trump’s victory in disbelief, coining the label “Trump shock” to go with other “shocks” memorable in their history with the United States.1 A failure had occurred: of the US media, of the US role as the beacon of democracy, and of both a model of capitalism2 that was supposed to forestall […]

Gilbert Rozman
Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , ASEAN , Asia pivot , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Balance of power , burden-sharing , containment , cross-Strait relations , Duterte
Dec 16,2016 Open Forum

Caught Between Two Big Powers? Central Asia Under the Weight of Russian and Chinese Influence

In 1991, the Soviet Union’s collapse reshaped the East/West problematic as it had emerged after World War II. Inside Soviet space, a number of cultural elements distinguished the five states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) from the rest of the former Russian empire, namely their shared cultural, linguistic, and religious traits […]

Sebastien Peyrouse
Afghanistan , Arab Spring , Armenia , authoritarianism , banking , Belarus , Central Asia , Collective Security Treaty Organization , colonialism , colored revolutions
Aug 12,2014 Topics of the Month

Multilateralism in Northeast Asia – 3

One of the main difficulties in my discussion of Russian foreign policy in Asia—indirectly alluded to in Elizabeth Wishnick’s comments—is a sense of uncertainty about Russia’s direction. While my analysis registers the undeniable closing of ranks between Beijing and Moscow, I fall short of proclaiming the death of multilateralism and highlight sources of tension between […]

Sergey Radchenko
Alliance , colored revolutions , polarization , Vladimir Putin , Xi Jinping
Feb 21,2014 Topics of the Month

Sino-US Relations – 2

United States Pushes Back Against Chinese Assertiveness; Xi Urges Dialogue Carefully sequenced statements by Obama administration officials in late January and February pushed back against Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and other maritime disputes, taking Sino-American competition to a new stage. America’s measured resolve adds to circumstances that work against overall success in […]

Robert Sutter
ADIZ , domestic concerns , interdependence , Kerry , Medeiros , Philippines , Russel , South China Sea , Southeast Asia , Xi Jinping
Nov 22,2013 Topics of the Month

The China Dream – 5

The highly anticipated Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee was held in Beijing on November 9-12. The Chinese leadership had sent strong signals that this Third Plenum would be comparable to the famed Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in December 1978, which adopted reform and opening and profoundly changed China. […]

Ming Wan
civil society , soft power , State Security Committee , Third Plenum , Xi Jinping
Oct 18,2013 Topics of the Month

The China Dream – 4

This monthly post tracks developments around the “China Dream” since September 17, 2013 and engages Manoranjan Mohanty whose view was summarized in the rejoinder to my previous post. Mohanty suggested that the “China Dream” was used mainly as a political mobilization instrument and did not represent a fundamental shift in Chinese policy making. I agree […]

Ming Wan
APEC summit , CCP power , EAS , good-neighborly treaty , Li Keqiang , Mao legacy , purify the society , Shanghai FTA , Southeast Asia , Taiwan
Oct 04,2013 Open Forum

Modeling a “New Type of Great Power Relations”: A Chinese Viewpoint

Forging a “new type of great power relations” is a novel foreign relations concept that China has proposed and emphasized of late, drawing widespread attention. It has taken shape mainly in the process of conceptualizing and operationalizing policy toward the United States. According to Western international relations theory, as a new great power arises, it […]

Ren Xiao*
established power , New type of great power relations , rising power , Xi Jinping