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121. India-US and India-East Asia Relations:Better Atmospherics, Similar Substance

Author:
Satu Limaye
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
High-profile visits and meetings characterized Indian relations with both the United States and East Asia in 2010. While there were no major “breakthroughs” or departures as a result, the ongoing evolution of both US-India and India-East Asia relations suggests that they are now a fixed part of the US-Asia dynamic. It is worth noting that while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton neither visited India during her first trip to Asia in February 2009 (she did visit India in July 2009) nor made mention of India in her pre-departure address on US Asia policy, in November 2010 President Obama opened his speech to the joint session of India”s Parliament by declaring that “[i]t”s no coincidence that India is my first stop on a visit to Asia…” And the joint statement between the two countries issued during that visit specifically noted a “shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity in Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific region…[and] agreed “to deepen existing regular strategic consultations on developments in East Asia…” Indeed, including India at all in an Asia itinerary is a recent innovation in US foreign policy and one that speaks to a larger US policy debate about the evolving Asia-Pacific. Whether such an innovation sticks remains to be seen, although many indications suggest that it will; especially as the need to coordinate increases on matters such as the East Asian Summit, maritime cooperation across the “Indo-Pacific,” and wider global issues.
Topic:
International Relations and National Security
Political Geography:
United States, India, East Asia, and Asia-Pacific

122. Japan's alliance diversification: a comparative analysis of the Indian and Australian strategic partnerships

Author:
Thomas S. Wilkins
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
As part of its movement toward 'normal country' status, Japan has begun to engage in a policy of alliance/alignment restructuring and diversification. This is a twin-track policy – the reconfiguration of existing allied relationships and the creation of new cooperative bilateral links. In recent years, Tokyo has deepened its ties with the United States and Australia on the one hand, while cultivating new partners such as India, as well as several Southeast Asian states. This article examines the nature and dynamics of two of the most important new strategic partnerships: India and Australia. Through a comparative analysis, it seeks to account for their formation, structure, and prospects using a specifically designed model of 'strategic partnership' drawn from Organizational Theories literature. It concludes that these strategic partnerships represent a major platform of a more robust and comprehensive security policy on the part of Japan, forged in response to a shifting international environment in the Asia-Pacific region.
Topic:
Climate Change
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, India, Australia, Tokyo, Southeast Asia, and Asia-Pacific

123. Will currency follow the flag?

Author:
Daniel W. Drezner
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
The 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath have triggered uncertainty about the future of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region have voiced support for a new global monetary regime. There are both economic and geopolitical motivations at the root of these challenges. Going forward, what will the future hold for the international monetary system? Crudely put, will currency follow the flag? This article addresses this question by considering the economic opportunity and geopolitical willingness of actors in the Pacific Rim to shift away from the current international monetary system – with a special emphasis on China as the most powerful actor in the region. While the dollar has shifted from being a top currency to a negotiated one, neither the opportunity nor the willingness to shift away from the dollar is particularly strong. The current window of opportunity for actors in the region to coordinate a shift in the monetary system is small and constrained. The geopolitical willingness to subordinate monetary politics to security concerns is muted.
Political Geography:
China and Asia-Pacific

124. Free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific a decade on: evaluating the past, looking to the future

Author:
Christopher M. Dent
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This paper charts the growth and patterns of free trade agreement (FTA) activity in the Asia-Pacific, discussing the extent to which there has been evolution and learning in FTA practice among Asia-Pacific states, with attention to the most notable trends in technical policy content and the different ideational approaches to formulating agreements. This sets the broad context for considerations of the current and likely future paths of FTA convergence, harmonization, and transformation in the Asia-Pacific. It is argued that new options for economically rational and politically feasible bilateral FTA partnerships within the Asia-Pacific region are running out. One response has been to explore more seriously options for forming wider plurilateral and regional agreements within the Asia-Pacific. However, a number of constraints and hindrances will work against such FTA convergence and harmonization. The longer term transformation of existing, mostly bilateral FTAs into different or expanded types of agreement has stronger prospects.
Political Geography:
Asia-Pacific

125. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the softest of them all? Evaluating Japanese and Chinese strategies in the 'soft' power competition era

Author:
Yee-Kuang Heng
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
As states jostle to attract and entice others by deploying a range of innovative strategies, a 'soft' power competition era looms possibly in the Asia-Pacific. This paper argues that reflecting on this period of competitive policy innovation provides a valuable opportunity to re-assess the theory and practice of Joseph Nye's 'soft' power, given its conceptual and empirical frailties: how theoretically precise are the policies commonly described as projecting 'soft' power? To do so, it undertakes a comparative evaluation of Japan's and China's 'soft' power strategies. By paying close attention to the theory–practice linkage, it illuminates the disparities in their understanding of Nye's 'soft' power. Rather than a one-size-fits-all concept, 'soft' power strategies with distinctively Japanese and Chinese characteristics are emerging, bringing different advantages and weaknesses. The proverbial magic mirror would conclude that by more closely matching Nye's formulations and displaying a less competitive streak, Japan appears the 'softer' power.
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Asia-Pacific

126. Russia's breakthrough into the Asia-Pacific: China's role

Author:
Gaye Christoffersen
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Russia's place in the Asia-Pacific region (APR) is undefined, hovering between Moscow's grandiose visions of its geopolitical role in balance of power strategies, and Russia's near invisibility in the region. Russia's integration into the Asia-Pacific has been dependent on China to give Russia a legitimate political and military presence in the region. Moscow blames mistakes it has made in Asia Pacific integration, 1992– 2005, on this China dependence, and expects that post-2006 Russian integration will be different as Moscow diversifies its relations in the region, culminating in Russia hosting the APEC 2012 summit.
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Moscow, and Asia-Pacific

127. Pacific Forum CSIS

Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
No abstract is available.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Washington and Asia-Pacific

128. East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute

Author:
David C. Kang
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
From the founding of the Ming dynasty in 1368 to the start of the Opium Wars in 1841, China has engaged in only two large-scale conflicts with its principal neighbors, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. These four territorial and centralized states have otherwise fostered peaceful and long-lasting relationships with one another, and as they have grown more powerful, the atmosphere around them has stabilized. Focusing on the role of the "tribute system" in maintaining stability in East Asia and fostering diplomatic and commercial exchange, Kang contrasts this history against the example of Europe and the East Asian states' skirmishes with nomadic peoples to the north and west. Scholars tend to view Europe's experience as universal, but Kang upends this tradition, emphasizing East Asia's formal hierarchy as an international system with its own history and character. His approach not only recasts common understandings of East Asian relations but also defines a model that applies to other hegemonies outside of the European order.
Topic:
International Relations and History
Political Geography:
Japan, China, East Asia, Asia, Vietnam, Korea, and Asia-Pacific
Publication Identifier:
9780231526746
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

129. Inside the Red Box: North Korea’s Post-totalitarian Politics

Author:
Patrick McEachern
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Book
Institution:
Columbia University Press
Abstract:
North Korea's institutional politics defy traditional political models, making the country's actions seem surprising or confusing when, in fact, they often conform to the regime's own logic. Drawing on recent materials, such as North Korean speeches, commentaries, and articles, Patrick McEachern, a specialist on North Korean affairs, reveals how the state's political institutions debate policy and inform and execute strategic-level decisions. Many scholars dismiss Kim Jong-Il's regime as a "one-man dictatorship," calling him the "last totalitarian leader," but McEachern identifies three major institutions that help maintain regime continuity: the cabinet, the military, and the party. These groups hold different institutional policy platforms and debate high-level policy options both before and after Kim and his senior leadership make their final call. This method of rule may challenge expectations, but North Korea does not follow a classically totalitarian, personalistic, or corporatist model. Rather than being monolithic, McEachern argues, the regime, emerging from the crises of the 1990s, rules differently today than it did under Kim's father, Kim Il Sung. The son is less powerful and pits institutions against one another in a strategy of divide and rule. His leadership is fundamentally different: it is "post-totalitarian." Authority may be centralized, but power remains diffuse. McEachern maps this process in great detail, supplying vital perspective on North Korea's reactive policy choices, which continue to bewilder the West.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, International Security, and Authoritarianism
Political Geography:
Asia, North Korea, and Asia-Pacific
Publication Identifier:
9780231526807
Publication Identifier Type:
ISBN

130. Editorial Note

Author:
Nicola Casarini
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
There has been a profound shift eastward in global power. The 2008 US National Intelligence Council study highlighted the unprecedented transfer of wealth from the West to the East which is likely to continue in the foreseeable future. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose East Asia for her first official trip abroad in February 2009. For the first time, the new Secretary of State did not go to Europe for the inaugural tour to meet the traditional transatlantic allies. Clinton's visits to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China emphasized not only the growing significance of East Asia for the new American administration, but also the increasing mutual interdependence between the two shores of the Pacific. As the Secretary of State told her Chinese counterpart in Beijing, ''We are truly going to rise or fall together.'' The US-China relationship is bound to set the stage for global politics in the next decades and become the central axis around which the Asia-Pacific era will unfold.
Political Geography:
China, Beijing, East Asia, and Asia-Pacific