June 18,2018 Open Forum

Authoritarian Sharp Power: Comparing China and Russia

The notion and practices of “sharp power” are increasingly grabbing our attention. This is so as the ascent of sharp power is taking place amidst the recent retreat of liberalism, and as authoritarian states, China and Russia in particular, vigorously attempt to expand their influence across the globe, utilizing any available means of power, whether soft, hard, or something in bet..

Kim Taehwan*
“Russian World" , China Dream , disinformation warfare , Eurasianism , foreign political influence operations , Sharp power , soft power
June 11,2018 Open Forum

An Exchange with Alexander Lukin on Russo-Chinese Relations: The New Rapprochement

Below is a dialogue consisting of questions asked by Gilbert Rozman after reading the new book and responses by Alexander Lukin clarifying the arguments of the book. First are some comments to set the stage, considering that Russian thinking about East Asia is important in the 2018 context of intense diplomacy over North Korea, rising Sino-US tensions, and reorganization as China’s pr..

Gilbert Rozman , Alexander Lukin
BRI , democratism , EAEU , free and open Indo-Pacific , SCO , THAAD
June 07,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (June 2018)

Kawakami Takashi in Kaigai Jijo No. 3-4, linked Trump’s chaos to America’s decline, leading to a breakdown in the world order. Giving rise to this is the power shift between Washington and Beijing, which is accompanied by a civilizational transfer from the West. US fatigue from the fight against terrorism has accelerated this shift. Instead of ideology, civilizational elements a..

Editorial Staff
Abe-Trump summit , BRI , China-Japan-Korea summit , Deal diplomacy , free and open Indo-Pacific , RCEP , trade war
May 30,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (May 2018)

In the spring of 2018, Russians reacted to the drama over North Korea as they questioned their country’s place in Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. Two figures loomed large in their writings: Donald Trump, representing a US government whose motives could never be trusted; and Kim Jong-un, ready to cut a deal with diplomacy left in doubt mainly because of the ideological bent o..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
BRI , BRICS , free and open Indo-Pacific , Quad , SCO , Xi-Kim summit , Xi-Modi summit
May 21,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (May 2018)

From March to May, South Korean news editorials continued to focus on inter-Korean and US-Korean relations, albeit with a new player in the picture: China. On China, analysts assessed its trade relations with the United States and Kim’s two summits with Xi, which took place before and after the inter-Korean summit. On inter-Korean and US-Korean relations, analysts discussed the announce..

Eun A Jo
CVID , inter-Korean summit , John Bolton , Kim-Xi summit , Libya model , Max Thunder , Trump-Kim summit
May 21,2018 Open Forum

From Friend to Foe-ish: Washington’s Negative Turn on the Belt and Road Initiative

Despite its status as a Pacific power, the United States has been somewhat peripheral to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since the latter’s inception in late 2013. The United States does not host BRI investments and, like many other major countries, has not signed a formal cooperation agreement setting out terms and conditions for a US role in the BRI, even though some US f..

Joel Wuthnow
"Belt and Road" Initiative , ADB , AIIB , Indo-Pacific strategy , the Quad , Trans-Pacific Partnership , World Bank
May 21,2018 Open Forum

Synopsis of the 2018 Asan Plenum: “Illiberal International Order”

The agenda of the 2018 Asan Plenum included a keynote address, a book launch, four plenary sessions, and fourteen panels meeting simultaneously in groups of two or three. My intention is not to be comprehensive but to reflect on commentaries about challenges to the international order: the fall of the order, Sino-Russian relations and the order, the impact of sharp power, and the liberal orde..

Gilbert Rozman
"Belt and Road" Initiative , America First , Asan Plenum , illiberalism , Indo-Pacific strategy , Liberal international order , Trumpism
May 08,2018 Open Forum

The Interference Operations from Putin’s Kremlin and Xi’s Communist Party: Forging a Joint Response

Xi Jinping’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin are systematically interfering in the politics and undermining the institutions of democratic nations.1 Xi’s China and Putin’s Russia have different long-term goals, strategic positions, methodologies, and capabilities. But their interests in weakening the liberal order are converging, and they are ..

Laura Rosenberger , John Garnaut
Chinese Communist Party , Sharp power , Vladmir Putin , Xi Jinping
May 01,2018 National Commentaries

A View from Russia, China, and Sundry Progressives

The optimism is palpable despite whiffs of concern. Many who had long been saying that North Korea only needed to be reassured to become a reliable diplomatic partner with willingness to abandon its threats and proceed to denuclearization in stages now feel vindicated. Instead of being some sort of madman, Kim Jong-un proved to be a savvy practitioner of diplomacy. The mood in Moscow, Beijing..

Editorial Staff
inter-Korean summit , Pyeongchang Olympics , Regional security framework , US-ROK alliance
May 01,2018 National Commentaries

A View from the United States

Now that the spectacle of the Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un summit has been left for the history books, attention is turning immediately to the anticipated meeting a month or so later between the “dotard” and the “rocket man,” as Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un called each other in 2017. Among some, there is a heady air of anticipation that an on-again-off-again crisis of a..

Gilbert Rozman
inter-Korean summit , Pyeongchang Olympics , Russia scandal , trade war , Trump-Kim summit