February 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 G20 Summit was the equivalent—its opportu..

Balbina Y. Hwang
anti-globalization , BRICS , Cold War , G20 , G7 , impeachment , liberalism internationalism , middle power , Middle Power Diplomacy , MIKTA
February 10,2017 Open Forum

Xinjiang and the Trans-nationalization of Uyghur Terrorism: Cracks in the “New Silk Road”?

President Xi Jinping’s ambitious “One Belt, One Road” strategy has magnified Chinese concern for the security of its long restive northwestern province, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Xinjiang, as Owen Lattimore argued, throughout much of recorded history constituted (along with Tibet and Mongolia) the “marginal Inner Asian zone” of Chinese expansio..

Michael Clarke
9/11 , Afghanistan , Al Qaeda , Central Asia , counterterrorism , critical theory , East Turkestan Islamic Movement , energy , globalization , Iraq
February 09,2017 Special Forum

Competing in a Shared Order in Asia

Arguably the leading challenge for US national security strategy in the coming decade is to recalibrate the US role for a more multipolar world order. The geopolitical as well as ideological foundations of the postwar order are under increasing strain.1 States with regional or global ambitions such as Russia, China, and Iran are challenging both the rules of the order and who sets them. Along..

Michael J. Mazarr
A2/AD , AirSea Battle , anti-globalization , Asia pivot , Balance of power , East China Sea , hegemonic stability theory , Iran , military buildup , Multipolarity
February 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 meetings with US Air Force and US Navy..

Christopher Clary
Arms Race , Cold War , Extended deterrence , first , India , military buildup , Multipolarity , mutually assured destruction , nuclear cascade , Nuclear deterrence
February 01,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (January 2017)

The leadership vacuum created in December has raised questions about the legitimacy of both the domestic and foreign policies of the South Korean government. With opposing party candidates leading the poll for the 2017 presidential election likely to be advanced, they are calling for reversing controversial Park administration foreign policies like THAAD deployment, the 2015 “comfort wo..

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)
Abe Shinzo , Balance of power , balancer , comfort women , Denuclearization , GSOMIA , isolationism , Kaesong Industrial Complex , Korea Air Defense Identification Zone , One China policy
December 12,2016 National Commentaries

A View from Vietnam

President Duterte sparked a media frenzy on his recent visit to China when he declared that the Philippines would "separate" from the United States and align itself with two of America's top rivals. At a moment when the United States is locked in a power contest with China, losing a critical ally like the Philippines would be nothing short of a disaster. Some have argued that the U..

Vu Truong-Minh* , Ngo Di Lan
accommodation , ASEAN , Balance of power , Duterte , France , freedom of navigation , hedging , Hollande , India , Modi
November 24,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2016)

Noteworthy in the fall of 2016 has been the increase in articles about the Russo-Japanese relationship. They accompanied the Eastern Economic Forum meeting of Putin and Abe and anticipated the planned visit of Putin to Yamaguchi in December. Further attention was also given to Sino-Russian relations, especially as questions kept being raised about how linking the Eurasian Economic Union and ..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
Crimea , Eurasian Economic Commission , Eurasian Economic Union , European Union , G7 , Kuril Islands , NATO , Northern Territories , Russian Far East , Shanghai Cooperation Organization
October 20,2016 Open Forum

One Belt, One Road: A New Roadmap for a Sinocentric World?

Nele Noesselt1 Chair for Chinese Politics, University of Duisburg-Essen In May 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China jointly issued a document entitled “Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road,” a highly strategic declarati..

Nele Noesselt
China Dream , harmonious world , Maritime Silk Road , Multipolarity , New Silk Road , One Belt One Road , Silk Road Economic Belt , Sinocentrism , Tianxia
October 20,2015 Open Forum

A Theoretical Explanation of the Evolving Northeast Asian Architecture: The “Incompleteness” of Sovereignty

Current literature on international relations theory is helpful in explaining Northeast Asian regional politics, but falls short. We witness the rising tension between the United States and China and wonder whether this will lead to power transition and to an “inevitable” clash. We want to explain why two advanced market democracies, South Korea and Japan, began to have quite tense relations d..

Chun Chaesung*
Incomplete Sovereignty , International relations theory , Power-maximizer , US-China rivalry
June 23,2015 Country Reports

Country Report: China (June 2015)

In Heping yu Fazhan, no. 2, 2015, Li Hongcai and Yang Guanghai took a broad view of security in Asia, citing Xi Jinping’s May 21, 2014 statement on the contours of such thinking. Xi had called on Asian countries to discard traditional thinking and forge new types of security relations. Recognizing that security in the region now is facing some difficulties, the authors expound on Xi’s themes t..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Dong Jiaxin*)
constructivism , SCO , Sino-ROK Relations , Sino-US Relations