Political Geography: China / Journal: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific

Author:: Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland
Publication Date:: 05-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:: Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:: Many debates about engagement with North Korea hinge on the precise nature of North Korea's foreign economic relations: whether trade and investment are on commercial or non-commercial terms; the extent of illicit activities, and the changing geographic patterns of North Korea's trade. This article provides an effort to reconstruct North Korea's foreign economic relations, subordinating our estimates to the discipline of the balance of payments accounting framework. Among the most salient findings for the debate about engagement and sanctions is that North Korea's trade and investment have continued to increase despite the onset of the nuclear crisis and a decline in illicit activities. This growth has occurred in part because of the growing weight of China and South Korea in trade, aid, and investment. We also find that economic relations between North and South Korea have a substantially greater non-commercial component than those occurring across the China–North Korea border.
Topic:: Economics
Political Geography:: China, South Korea, and North Korea

Author:: Hiroshi Kimura
Publication Date:: 05-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:: Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:: This well-constructed work starts from a rather lengthy, detailed 'Overview' written by three editors to enable readers to clearly understand the purpose and structure of the volume. This part includes a summary of the four periods of Japanese strategic thinking that comprise the main body of the book: the 1980s, the first half of the 1990s, the second half of the 1990s, and the Koizumi era. The volume, published in 2007, even covers the first few months of Abe Shinzo in office. In Part 1, 'Chronology', the afore-mentioned four periods are examined. Part 2, 'Geography', focuses on Japan's strategic thought toward five countries/areas in Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Russia, and Central Asia. The final chapter deals with Japan's strategic thinking on regionalism. The chronological and geographical approaches taken in the book give readers a complete picture of the topic. Editors and contributors consist of ten leading experts in Asian studies residing in the United States and other major Asian countries. Most of the contributors are university professors, but there was also a significant contribution from some people with a background in diplomatic services.
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Japan, China, Taiwan, Asia, and Korea

Author:: Gregory J. Moore
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:: Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:: Speaking of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) test of a nuclear device on 9 October 2006, official statements from the government of one of the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) claimed that 'the DPRK ignored [the] universal opposition of the international community and flagrantly conducted the nuclear test' and that this government 'is resolutely opposed to it'. Moreover, in 2005, an expert on North Korea working in the defense sector of the same UNSC permanent-five member told the author that he thought the Kim Jong-Il regime was 'scary' and 'despotic' and that Kim maintains his rule by 'brainwashing' his people. It would certainly not be surprising to hear such words about North Korea from a member of the Bush Administration, or perhaps from a Brit. Yet, strange though it might seem to some, the views expressed about North Korea's nuclear test above came from official Chinese statements (People's Daily, October 2006), and the defense expert was one of China's most senior North Korean watchers, one with many years of experience in both Koreas.
Topic:: Government
Political Geography:: China and Korea

Author:: Kai He
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:: Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:: Indonesian politics opened a new phase of democratization after Soeharto stepped down from his 32 years of authoritarian rule. In this paper, Indonesia's foreign policy changes after Soeharto are systematically examined through an 'international pressure–political legitimacy' model derived from neoclassical realism. This model specifies that Indonesia's foreign policy during democratization is mainly influenced by two factors: international pressure and the political legitimacy of the new democratic government. Four cases of foreign policy decision-making from three post-Soeharto presidencies are examined: (i) Indonesia's East Timor policy under Habibie; (ii) Indonesia's 'silence response' toward China's protest on the anti-Chinese riots under Habibie; (iii) Wahid's 'looking towards Asia' proposal; and (iv) Megawati's anti-terrorism and Aceh military operation. The results show that political legitimacy shapes the nature of state behavior, i.e. balancing or compromising, whereas international pressure determines the pattern of state behavior, i.e. external/internal balancing or compromising in words/in deeds.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Democratization
Political Geography:: China, Indonesia, and Asia

Author:: Keiichi Tsunekawa
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:: Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:: This volume is a major contribution to the academic effort to understand the nature of region-making in post-crisis East Asia. Before the monetary and financial crisis, East Asia was praised for a rapid economic development based on market-driven regionalization. The 1997–98 crisis crushed the optimistic image of East Asia. But what is actually the nature of regional processes there? The editors' conclusion is clear: The network-type arrangements still characterize the region-making in East Asia, but different from the pre-crisis era, region-formation in contemporary East Asia is neither based on a single national model nor led by a single country; it is rather the process of hybridization of American, Japanese, Chinese, and any other national model.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Japan, China, America, and East Asia

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