Koreas

Geopolitics

Balancing Interests and Threats: Challenges for Korea’s Next President

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Asia Global Institute Fellow William H Overholt examines the geopolitics of Korea, focusing on its efforts to balance relations with China with its dependence on the US.

Geopolitics

Covid-19, US-China Competition – and a Multipolar Future?

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

The pandemic has given rise to an unstable bipolarity that, if left to deteriorate, could pave the way to a multipolar future.

Geopolitics

Russia’s Greater Eurasian Partnership Strategy: Aims and Prospects

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Disruptions and disputes among the major powers with interests in the region should not hinder deeper cooperation if all players focus on trade and investment.

Geopolitics

After the Moon-Biden Summit, Can Kim Jong-un Seize the Geopolitical Moment?

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Neither Moon Jae-in nor Joe Biden would be fully satisfied with the outcomes but their Washington meeting was a welcome return of mature diplomacy.

Geopolitics

Vaccine Valor: Making Something Out of Nothing with North Korea

Thursday, May 20, 2021

The aim: to reopen the doors to diplomacy and, in the long term, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Geopolitics

An Asian Century Is A Long Way Off

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Asia's economies cannot sustain high growth forever, social tensions are increasing and ageing government leaders lack the capacity to cope with critical challenges.

Geopolitics

After Trump’s Disruptions, Biden Has a Full Agenda in Asia

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

The new president’s advantage, according to Mumbai-born journalist and author Salil Tripathi, is his experience and maturity.

Security

The Eight Steps of North Korean Brinkmanship: Is This Time Different?

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Pyongyang’s increasing assertiveness makes the current confrontation more dangerous to regional and global stability than usual.

Economy

Two Decades On, ASEAN’s Fragile Safety Net is Untested

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

The purpose of the Chiang Mai Initiative should be renewed and deploying it would be a step towards ASEAN regional financial integration.

Security

Rethinking US Alliances and Partnerships as Insurance Contracts

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Alliances and partnerships with the US should be viewed as insurance contracts to hedge against the uncertainties of Beijing’s growing power and influence.

Geopolitics

History Hurts: Japan and Korea Should Dial their Dispute Down

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Domestic politics trumps diplomacy: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has taken a strong line on Korea to boost his approval ratings

Geopolitics

In Trade War, Japan and Korea Need Anger Management

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Leaders on both sides need to see the advantages of long-term close relations over fractious bickering

Security

Denuclearizing North Korea: What Must Happen Next

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Donald Trump’s surprise meeting with Kim Jong-Un in the De-Militarized Zone border area with South Korea has re-energized the dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. The challenge for both sides is to translate this renewed contact into a meaningful continuation of the denuclearization process, writes Graham Ong-Webb, Adjunct Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

Security

Progress on a Nuclear-Free North Korea Stalled, Not Halted

Thursday, March 14, 2019

As the dust settles on the Hanoi summit, critics argue that the absence of an agreement between Trump and Kim is a sign that diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea has failed. But even without a roadmap to denuclearization, the summit promotes important goals in these early stages: dialogue, a continued freeze on nuclear testing, and hope for a gradual lifting of economic sanctions.

Population & Society

Reckoning with Graying Asia

Thursday, February 28, 2019

The Asia-Pacific population has been undergoing dramatic aging, which is transforming the region’s demographic landscape beyond recognition. The region is currently ill-equipped to meet this critical challenge, particularly due to a lack of sound and efficient pension systems.

Politics

When Public and Private Merge: South Korea and the Chaebol

Thursday, November 22, 2018

The impeachment and subsequent removal from office of South Korean President Park Geun-hye have revealed the extent of state-business collusion in the country

Health

Shifting Mores, Stagnant Laws: Fertility Politics in East Asia

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Mired in demographic crises, East Asia is looking to new reproductive technologies as a solution. But its restrictive, reluctant embrace of these technologies runs counter to evolving social attitudes.

Geopolitics

The Korean Games, Olympic and Otherwise

Thursday, February 8, 2018

North Korea has agreed to march alongside South Korea and to have a joint women’s hockey team with its neighbor at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. The sports diplomacy of North Korea is often unpredictable, but could this particular instance signal a geopolitical détente in an East Asia gripped by nuclear fears?