September 11,2017 Open Forum

Keeping Northeast Asia “Abnormal”: Origins of the Liberal International Order in Northeast Asia and the New Cold War

Northeast Asia is at a crossroads. One road leads to continued economic growth, regional integration, and globalization, while the other leads to trade-wars, territorial disputes, and an arms race undergirded by resurgent nationalism. If history and geopolitics are our guide, the latter road will be taken. The region is riven by historical animosities, ideological tensions, and territorial di..

Hahm Chaibong*
abnormal states , Cold War , Peace Constitution , Thucydides trap , Yoshida Doctrine
September 05,2017 National Commentaries

A US Perspective

Polarization is a state of international relations familiar from the Cold War era. Even through there was an early non-aligned movement and some states insisted on their strategic autonomy, the process of polarization continued. China spent almost a decade denouncing both camps before it reversed its position and joined one of them. Is polarization reviving some three decades after the end of..

Gilbert Rozman
ARF , Donald Trump , THAAD , TPP
September 05,2017 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

With no end in sight for North Korea to back down from its hardline military stance, and continued worries about Chinese aggression in the region, there is no shortage of concerns that countries across the Asia-Pacific share. The challenge, however, is not identifying the common threats facing the world’s most populous region, or even coming up with potential solutions that could ensure..

Shihoko Goto
Abe Shinzo , AIIB , Pax Americana , TPP
August 23,2017 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 5, No. 4

A relatively quiet summer for think tanks was punctuated by an unusual degree of trepidation about developments in the Asia-Pacific region and US policy responses. Discussions in early summer, when US-South Korean relations appeared threatened, gave way to warnings in August about US-North Korean tensions that could lead to conflict as well as Sino-US relations, decisive to regional pea..

Editorial Staff
BRI , East China Sea , KORUS FTA , OBOR , South China Sea , THAAD , TPP , trilateralism , Trump-Moon summit , Trump-Xi Summit
August 21,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (July 2017)

The divide over Russia’s Asian policies came into the open and sharpened as hopes for Trump changing US policy have been dashed and Putin’s prominent role at the Belt and Road Initiative summit failed to yield tangible benefits. The mainstream view calls for staying the course, tweaking the label from “Turn to the East” to “Greater Eurasia” while rejectin..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
Eurasian Economic Union , Greater Eurasia , OBOR , SCO , Silk Road Economic Belt , THAAD , turn to the East
August 18,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: China (August 2017)

In mid-2017, Chinese analysts were preoccupied with the North Korean nuclear crisis and the South Korean decision to deploy THAAD. They identified uncertainties in the South Korea–China relationship and defined an emerging East Asian regional structure. They also assessed the Trump administration’s foreign policy and criticized Japan’s public diplomacy efforts. North Korean Nu..

Danielle F. S. Cohen
comfort women , Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands , ICBM , secondary sanctions , Strategic accountability , THAAD , TPP , UN sanctions
August 16,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (July 2017)

President Moon made his international debut at the summit with President Trump in Washington and at meetings with the G20 leaders in Germany. His debut was generally considered successful. On the surface, the first meeting between Moon and Trump appeared to be a meaningful one, reaffirming the solidarity of the alliance between South Korea and the United States. However, it also demonstrated ..

Editorial Staff
comfort women , G20 , KORUS FTA , Moon Jae-in , THAAD , Trump-Moon summit
July 03,2017 Open Forum

Japan’s Feelings of Marginalization in Spring 2017 and the US Factor

At this time of extraordinary flux, for some, Japan looms as an embodiment of stability and sound realist judgment. For others, it remains mired in the post-Cold War trap: stagnation without serious reform, revisionist obsessions without moves toward genuine reconciliation, and insularity without timely internationalization. In this article, I avoid these extremes to concentrate on the short-..

Gilbert Rozman
Abe-Trump summit , BRI , Moon-Trump summit , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , US-Japan alliance
July 03,2017 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 5, No. 3)

In May and June, challenges mounted for observers of foreign relations in the Asia-Pacific region. Donald Trump kept throwing US policy into question. Clashing views of the Belt and Road forum left some anticipating Chinese leadership in regionalism and globalism, while others saw the forum as making little concrete progress. If the options for Japan and Russia appeared to narrow, each remain..

Editorial Staff
BRI , Donald Trump , G2 , TPP , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance
June 29,2017 Special Forum

Introduction

Amid increasing uncertainties in Sino-US relations and Japan-South Korea relations, the late spring of 2017 prioritized US-ROK relations. After Moon Jae-in was elected as president, Seoul-watchers followed closely his policy and personnel decisions. In particular, they focused on their implications for US-ROK relations, as Moon awaits his first summit with Donald Trump, whose policies toward ..

Editorial Staff
comfort women , Donald Trump , FTA , Moon Jae-in , Moon-Trump summit , Sunshine Policy , THAAD , Xi Jinping