Monday October 14, 2024 Asia Events

COMMON SECURITY IN THE INDO PACIFIC REGION. 10/14, 8:00pm (PST), 8:00am (EDT) HYBRID. Sponsor: Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security. Speakers: Francis Daehoon Lee of Peace MOMO is former research professor of peace studies at SungKongHoe University and visiting professor for peace studies at Ritsumeikan University and the International University of Japan; Speakers: Reiner Braun has been actively involved in the German and international peace movements since 1982; Anuradha Chenoy is Adjunct Professor, Jindal Global University and Associate Fellow of the Trans-national Institute (The Netherlands); Enkhsakhan Jargalsaikhan is chair of Blue Banner, a Mongolian NGO dedicated to promoting the goals of nuclear non-proliferation.  

THE CONSERVATIVE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST TECH. 10/24, Noon-1:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Speakers: Jennifer Huddleston; Technology Policy Research Fellow, Cato Institute; Josh Withrow, Resident Fellow, Technology and Innovation; R Street. 

MYANMAR’S HUMANITARIAN NEEDS AND CHALLENGES IN 2024. 10/14, 3:00-4:30pm (SGT), HYBRID. Sponsor: ISEAS Myanmar Studies Programme. Speakers: Dr Su Mon Thazin Aung, Visiting Fellow with the Myanmar Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institut; Dr Surachanee Sriyai is a Visiting Fellow with the Media, Technology and Society Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. 

A CONVERSATION WITH NK NEWS CEO CHAD O’CARROLL. 10/14, 5:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: School of Global Policy and Strategy, US San Diego. Speakers: Chad O'Carroll, founder and CEO, NK News; Stephan Haggard, Director Emeritus, Korea-Pacific Program, School of Global Policy and Strategy, US San Diego. 

THE RISING SUN OF INNOVATION. 10/14, 7:00-8:15pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: Asia Society Japan. Speaker: Dr Peter Gruss, one of the most experienced and "hands-on" doers and thinkers in the world of global science and innovation. 

Monday Asia Events September 30, 2024

XINJIANG: SUPPORTING VICTIMS AND ADVANCING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UN RECOMMENDATIONS. 9/30, 8:00am (EDT), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Atlantic Council. Location: 57th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Speakers Include: Priya Gopalan, Vice-Chair on Follow-Up and member for the Asia-Pacific region, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; John Fisher, Deputy Director for Global Advocacy, Human Rights Watch. 

THE STRATEGIC CULTURE OF THE UNITED WA STATE ARMY. 9/30, 9:00-10:00am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Stimson Center. Speakers: Amara Thiha, Nonresident Fellow, Stimson; Doctoral Researcher, Peace Research Institute of Oslo; Pamela Kennedy, Research Analyst, East Asia Program. 

THE POLITICS OF NON-POLITICS IN POST-1960S JAPAN. 9/30, Noon-1:00pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsors: Weatherhead Program on US-Japan Relations, Harvard University. Speaker: Nick Kapur, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers University. 

ON DAY ONE": A U.S. ECONOMIC CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR A TAIWAN CRISIS. 9/30, 12:30-1:30pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Eyck Freymann, Hoover Fellow, Stanford University, Non-resident Research Fellow, China Maritime Studies Institute, US Naval War College; Jude Blanchette, Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS; Hugo Bromley, Research Associate, Centre for Geopolitics, Cambridge. 

PRICE STABILITY IN AN AGE OF EMERGENCIES: REVISITING THE CASE FOR BUFFER STOCKS. 9/30, 3:00-4:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Peterson Institute (PIIE). Speakers: Maurice Obstfeld, C. Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow, PIIE; Isabella M. Weber, Associate Professor, Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

OBJECTIONS OF DISRUPTION: OPPRESSION IN THAILAND. 9/30, 3:00-5:00pm (EDT), IN PERSON ONLY. Sponsor: Sigur Center, George Washington University. Speaker: Pavin Chachavalpongpun, professor, Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies, chief editor, online journal, Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia. 

BOOK TALK: WEAPONS IN SPACE: TECHNOLOGY, POLITICS, AND THE RISE AND FALL OF THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE. 9/30, 4:00-5:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Wilson Center. Speaker: author Aaron Bateman, Assistant Professor, History, International Affairs, George Washington University. 
PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/47BX3Nu

BOOK TALK: WEAPONS IN SPACE: TECHNOLOGY, POLITICS, AND THE RISE AND FALL OF THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE. 9/30, 4:00-5:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Wilson Center. Speaker: author Aaron Bateman, Assistant Professor, History, International Affairs, George Washington University. PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/47BX3Nu

This Week on Asia November 20-26, 2021

JAPAN’S SHIFTING ECONOMIC SECURITY POLICIES AND PROSPECTS UNDER THE NEW KISHIDA ADMINISTRATION. 11/22, 3:00am (EST), 5:00pm (JST), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS), Temple University Japan. Speaker: Akira Igata, Executive Director, Center for Rule-Making Strategies, Tama University; Moderator: Robert Dujarric, Co-Director, ICAS, Temple University Japan. 

BIRTH OF THE STATE: THE PLACE OF THE BODY IN CRAFTING MODERN POLITICS. 11/22, 4:00-6:30pm (CEST), 10:00am (EST), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). Speakers: Charlotte Epstein, Author, Senior Researcher, DIIS; Finn Stepputat, Senior Researcher, DIIS; Robin May Schott, Senior Researcher, DIIS; Stefano Guzzini, Senior Researcher, DIIS; Rune Lykkeberg, Editor-in-chief, Information.  PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/3CH8W4w

DEBATE: “China’s growing assertiveness is mainly driven by a sense of insecurity and perceived threats.” 11/22, 1:30- 2:15pm (EST), WEBINAR. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Michael Swaine, Director, East Asia Program, Quincy Institute; Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair, Asian Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, GU; Bonny Lin, Director, China Power Project, CSIS. 

THE GLOBAL STATE OF DEMOCRACY REPORT - GLOBAL LAUNCH. 11/22, 5:00-7:00pm (CET), 11:00am-1:00pm (EST), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Speakers: Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships; Dr. Jürgen Zattler, Director-General for International Development Policy, 2030 Agenda; Dr. Seema Shah, Head of Democracy Assessment Unit, International IDEA; Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General, International IDEA; Christophe Deloire, Secretary General, Reporters Without Borders; Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa; Mu Sochua, former Vice-President, Cambodia National Rescue Party; Moderator: Massimo Tommasoli, Director of Global Programmes, International IDEA. 

INDO-PACIFIC EMPIRE: CHINA, AMERICA AND THE CONTEST FOR THE WORLD’S PIVOTAL REGION. 11/22, 4:00-5:15pm (EST), LIVESTREAM. Sponsor: Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Speakers: author Rory Medcalf, Head, National Security College, Australia National University; Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, CNAS; Dr. Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS; Thomas Wright, Director, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institution; Moderated by: Richard Fontaine, Chief Executive Officer, CNAS.

FORGING THAILAND – US CLIMATE AND ENERGY PARTNERSHIP. 11/23, 8:00-9:15am (EST), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: East-West Center in Washington (EWCW). Speakers: H.E. Manasvi Srisodapol, Ambassador of Thailand to the United States of America; Mr. Kulit Sombatsiri, Permanent Secretary, Thailand Ministry of Energy; Mr. Harry R. Kamian, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources, United States Department of State; Mr. Mark W. Menezes, former Deputy Secretary of Energy, United States Department of Energy; Ms. Verinda Fike, Regional Manager for the Indo-Pacific, US Trade and Development Agency; Mr. Noppadol Dej-Udom, Chief Sustainability Officer, Charoen Pokphand Group Company Limited (C.P. Group); Ms. Courtney Weatherby, Research Analyst and Deputy Director, Energy, Water, and Sustainability, Southeast Asia, Stimson Center; H.E. Piper Campbell, Former Head of the US Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) & Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, American University.

AUKUS: A MODEL FOR OTHER US ALLIES AND PARTNERS? 11/23, Noon-1:00pm (EST), ONLINE. Sponsor: Hudson Institute. Speakers: Henry Sokolski, Executive Director, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center; John Lee, Senior Fellow, Hudson; Moderator: Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson. 

A CONVERSATION WITH JAMES MULVENON. 11/23, 12:30-2:00pm (EST), Washington, DC. Sponsor: Asian Studies Program, Walsh School of Foreign Service, GU. Speakers: James Mulvenon, Director of Intelligence Integration, SOS International; Moderator: Michael Green, Professor of International Affairs, Walsh School of Foreign Service, GU. 

CHINA–US COMPETITION IN AI: DESTABILISING AND INTENSIFYING. 11/24 9:00-10.30am (EST), 10:00-11.30pm (SGT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: IISS. Speakers: Dr James Johnson, author Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Warfare: USA, China, and strategic stability (2021); Dr Greg Austin leads the Cyber, Space and Future Conflict Programme at IISS and is based in the Singapore office; Meia Nouwensleads IISS research on China's Digital Silk Road.

PARTNERS IN DETERRENCE: US NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND ALLIANCES IN EUROPE AND ASIA. 11/24, 8:30-9:30pm (EST), 11/25 12:30–1:30pm (AEDT) ONLINE. Sponsor: ANU College of Asia & the Pacific. Speakers: author Emeritus Professor Hugh White, Australian National University; Professor Caitlin Byrne, Griffith University; Professor Andrew O'Neil, Griffith University; Professor Stephan Frühling, Australian National University. 

STATE OF DEMOCRACY IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC REPORT LAUNCH. 11/24, 6:00-7:30pm (CET), Noon-1:30pm (EST), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Speakers: H.E. Audrey Tang, Digital Minister of Taiwan; Leena Rikkila Tamang, Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific, International IDEA; Dr. Edward Aspinall, Professor, Coral Bell School of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University; Dr. Imelda Deinla, Associate Professor, Ateneo School of Government, Philippines; Dr. Nematullah Bizhan, former government official of Afghanistan; Moderator: Dr. Mark Evans, Professor, Center for Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra. 

10 MONTHS AFTER THE MILITARY COUP – WHERE IS MYANMAR HEADING? 11/24 DAY 1. 11/24, 9:00am-5:30pm (CEST), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). Speakers: Thant Myint-U, Historian, Conservationist, Former Danish Presidential Adviser; Moe Thuzar, Fellow, and Co-coordinator of the Myanmar Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore; Jason Tower, Country Director, Burma, United States Institute of Peace (USIP); Marco Bünte, Professor at the Institute of Asian Politics and Society, University of Erlangen- Nürnberg ; Morten Pedersen, Senior Lecturer, University of South Wales; Michael Lidauer, Associate of the Myanmar Institute; Lisbeth Pilegaard, Director, Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD); Myat The Thitsar, PhD Candidate, University of Massachusetts -Lowell; Mikael Gravers, Emeritus Associate Professor, Aarhus University. 

PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES FOR EXPANDING TAIWAN'S ECONOMIC SPACE AND ACCESSION INTO COMPREHENSIVE AND PROGRESSIVE AGREEMENT FOR TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (CPTPP). 11/24, 9:00-10:30am (EST), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Global Taiwan Institute (GTI). Speakers: Terry Cooke, Founder, China Partnership of Greater Philadelphia; Shihoko Goto, Deputy Director for Geoeconomics, Wilson Center; Amb. Michael Reilly, former Director, British Trade and Cultural Office, Taipei; Riley Walters, Deputy Director, Japan Chair, Hudson; Moderator: Russell Hsiao, Executive Director, GTI. 

CORPORATE SUBSIDIES BY CHINA, THE EU, AND THE US: TIME FOR REFORMS? 11/25, 5:00am (EST), 6:00pm (SGT),WEBINAR. Sponsor: Hinrich Foundation. Speakers: co-author, Simon Evenett, Founder, Global Trade Alert; Weihuan Zhou, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Gary Sampson, Professor of International Trade, Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne, Australia; Moderator: Kaewkamol (Karen) Pitakdumrongkit, Deputy Head, Centre for Multilateralism Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. 

THE GLOBAL STATE OF DEMOCRACY REPORT - STOCKHOLM PRESENTATION. 11/25, 3:00-5:00pm (CET), 9:00-11:00am (EST), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). Speakers: H.E. Ann Linde, Foreign Affairs Minister, Sweden; Dr. Seema Shah, Head of Democracy Assessment, International IDEA; Benedicte Berner, Civil Rights Defenders; Erik Halkjaer, Reporters Without Borders; Birgitta Ohlsson, National Democratic Institute; Moderator: Dr. Miguel Angel Lara Otaola, Senior Democracy Assessment Specialist, International IDEA. 

10 MONTHS AFTER THE MILITARY COUP – WHERE IS MYANMAR HEADING? 11/25 DAY 2. 11/25, 10:00am-Noon (CEST), WEBINAR. Speakers: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). Speakers: Christian Lund, Professor, Copenhagen University; Kirsten McConnachie, Professor, University of East Anglia; Elisabeth Rhoads, Postdoc, Lund University; Anders Baltzer Jørgensen, Emeritus Researcher and previous Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Annika Pohl Harrisson, Postdoc Researcher, Aarhus University; Susanne Kempel, Researcher and independent consultant; John Nielsen, Senior Analyst at DIIS and Former Danish Ambassador to Myanmar; Helene Maria Kyed, Head of Research Unit, DIIS. 

Monday Asia Events June 28, 2021

BUY AMERICA MEETS STRATEGIC AUTONOMY. 6/28, 11:00am-Noon (EDT), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Kerstin Jorna, Director General of Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs, European Commission; Peter Harrell, Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness, White House National Security Council; Bill Reinsch, Senior Adviser and Scholl Chair in International Business, CSIS. 

GENDER EQUALITY AND THE WORLD’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY. 6/28, 11:00am-Noon (EDT), ZOOM. Sponsor: Foreign Policy (FP). Speakers: Anila Denaj, Minister of Finance and Economy, Republic of Albania; Dr. Nadine Gasman Zylbermann, President, National Institute for Women of Mexico; Saba Gebremedhin, Executive Director, Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations; Jennifer Klein, Co-Chair and Executive Director, White House Gender Policy Council; Reena Ninan, Founder, Good Trouble Productions; Anita Zaidi, President, Gender Equality, and Director, Vaccine Development and Surveillance, and Director, Enteric & Diarrheal Diseases (EDD), Gates Foundation.

UK-EU-JAPAN DIGITAL POLICY COORDINATION. 6/28, 1:00-2:00pm (BST), WEBCAST. Sponsor: Chatham House. Speakers: Yoichi Iida, Deputy Director-General, G7, and G20 Relations, and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan; Silvia Viceconte, Head of Sector, Multilateral Affairs and Economic Cooperation, International Affairs and Policy Outreach Unit, European Commission, and Directorate General, Communication Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission; David Prodger, Deputy Director, International Strategy, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sports, UK; Harriet Moynihan, Senior Research Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatham House. 

THE TRANSFORMATION OF JAPAN’S SECURITY STRATEGY. 6/28, Noon-1:00pm (EDT), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: Hudson. Speakers: The Honorable Yasuhide Nakayama, Japan’s State Minister of Defense; Kenneth R. Weinstein, Walter P. Stern Distinguished Fellow, Hudson Institute. 

THE ROLE OF OIL AND GAS IN NET-ZERO. 6/28, 2:00-3:00pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Speakers: Al Cook, Executive Vice President, Exploration & Production International, Equinor; Juliana Garaizar, Vice President of Innovation, Greentown Labs; Greg Sharenow, Portfolio Manager, Real Assets, PIMCO. Moderator: Helima Croft, Managing and Global Head of Commodity Strategy, RBC Capital Markets. 

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: PAST AND PRESENT MOVEMENTS IN TAIWAN, HONG KONG, AND MYANMAR. 6/28, 8:00-9:30pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsor: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University (GWU). Speakers: Michael Hsiao, Chairman, Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation; Kharis Templeman, Program Manager, Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific, Stanford University; Christina Fink, Professor of Practice of International Affairs, GWU; Syaru Shirley Lin, Compton Visiting Professor in World Politics, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia; Moderator: Deepa Ollapally, Research Professor of International Affairs, Associate Director of Sigur Center for Asian Studies, GWU. 

ADVANCING A RULES-BASED MARITIME ORDER: THE ROLE OF THE U.S.-JAPAN ALLIANCE. 6/28, 9:20-11:00pm (EDT), ZOOM. Sponsor: Pacific Forum. Speakers: Dr. Virginia Watson, Professor, DKI Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii; Dr. Kyoko Hatakeyama, Professor, University of Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan; Moderator: John Bradford, (CDR, USN, Ret.), Senior Fellow, Maritime Security Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. 

EU DEFENSE WASHINGTON FORUM. 6/28-6/29, 9:00am-12:30pm (EDT), WEBINAR. Sponsors: CSIS; European Union. Speakers include: Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union, Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Jonathan Finer, US Deputy National Security Advisor; Stavros Lambrinidis, EU Ambassador to the United States; Trine Bramsen, Minister of Defense, Denmark.

Monday Events, April 5, 2021

THE FUTURE OF JAPAN-CHINA RELATIONS. 8:30-9:30am (EDT) WEBINAR. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Rumi Aoyama, Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University; Masafumi Iida, Head, America, Europe, and Russia Division, Regional Studies Department, National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS); Asei Ito, Associate Professor, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo; Ichiro Inoue, Professor, School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University; Matthew P. Goodman, Senior Vice President for Economics and Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS; Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS. 

DOES A TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT OFFER THE LAST PATH TO AN AFGHAN PEACE? 9:30-11:00am (EDT), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: Middle East Institute (MEI). Speakers: H.E. Javid Ahmad, Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates; non-resident senior fellow, Atlantic Council; Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security; William Maley, Emeritus Professor, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University; Ahmed Rashid, Pakistani journalist and writer; Moderator: Marvin Weinbaum, Director, Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies, MEI. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN’S BUDGET REQUESTS FOR SCIENCE. 11:00am-Noon. Sponsor. National Press Club Virtual Headliners. Speaker: Dr. Sudip Parikh, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN ANTARCTICA: WHAT SHOULD BE THE PRIORITIES FOR THE NEW BIDEN ADMINISTRATION? 1:00-2:30pm (EDT), WEBCAST. Sponsors: Polar Institute, Latin American Program and Global Europe Program, Wilson Center (WWC). Speakers: Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator (D-RI); Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner of Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, European Commission; Ambassador Helen Ågren, Ambassador for the Ocean, Ministry For Foreign Affairs, Sweden; Enric Sala, Explorer in Residence, National Geographic Society; Moderator: Evan T. Bloom, Senior Fellow, Polar Institute, WWC.

STRUGGLES FOR THAI DEMOCRACY: POLITICIANS’ POINTS OF VIEW. 4/5, 2:00pm (EDT) WEBINAR. Sponsor: Center for Southeast Asia Studies, UC Berkeley. Speakers:Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Parit Wacharasindhu will discuss the current state of Thai politics from their perspectives as key participants in the pro-democracy movement. 

SERVANTS OF THE DEVIL: FACILITATORS OF THE CRIMINAL AND TERRORIST NETWORKS. 2:00-3:00pm (EDT). WEBINAR AND FACEBOOK LIVESTREAM. Sponsor: Institute of World Politics (IWP). Speakers: Author, Norman A. Bailey is Professor of Economic Statecraft, IWP; Author, Bernard Touboul, International Expert in Customs Administration and Enforcement, Border Management, and International Trade Facilitation. PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/3dx2JwH

AMERICA'S RISE TO SUPREMACY. 3:00-4:15pm (EDT), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. Speakers: Paul Kennedy, J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History at Yale; Stephen Wertheim, historian of U.S. foreign relations who directs grand strategy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, author Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy (Harvard University Press); Moderated by Graham T. Allison. PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/3cMbxQ2

TRANSITIONS TO PEACE: THE PHILIPPINES IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. 6:30-7:45pm (EDT), ONLINE. Sponsor: Center for Global Affairs at NYU's School of Professional Studies. Speakers: Armi Beatriz E. Bayot, Doctoral Candidate, University of Oxford; Nikki Philine C. de la Rosa, Country Manager International Alert, The Philippines; Anne Marie Goetz, Clinical Professor, Center for Global Affairs, School of Professional Studies, New York University; Mussolini Sinsuat Lidasan, Member, Bangsamoro Transitional Authority and Executive Director, Al Qalam Institute, Ateneo de Davao University; Rob Jenkins, Professor of Political Science, Hunter College, City University of New York. 

KIKKOMAN CORPORATION: A CONVERSATION WITH YUZABURO MOGI, HONORARY CEO AND CHAIRMAN. 8:00-9:00pm (EDT), ZOOM WEBINAR. Sponsor: Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB), Columbia Business School. Speaker: Yuzaburo Mogi, Honorary CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Kikkoman Corporation; Moderator: David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB), Columbia Business School and Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University.

Japan’s Values Diplomacy Runs Aground in Myanmar

Japan’s rivalry with China reinforces Tokyo’s inclination to avert its eyes from human rights abuses, electoral fraud, corruption and suppression of fundamental freedoms. Tokyo is not opposed to liberal democracy but also not prepared to risk anything to support it.

By Jeff Kingston, FORSEA – or Forces of Renewal for Southeast Asia, February 23, 2021

Director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan and APP member. He is author and editor of a dozen books, including Press Freedom in Japan (Routledge 2017), Japan’s Foreign Relations (2018), Japan (Polity 2019), Press Freedom in Asia (Routledge 2019) and the Politics of Religion, Nationalism and Identity in Asia (Rowman & Littlefield 2019).

The Myanmar military’s unconstitutional coup d’etat to derail democracy, and subsequent killing of peaceful pro-democracy protestors, is awkward for Japan’s so-called values diplomacy. Aside from some mild diplomatic handwringing, Tokyo has confirmed that promoting values is not a priority in Myanmar and that it is not willing to sacrifice anything to protect or promote them. Across Asia, the Japanese government has no qualms in working with whoever is in power, raising questions about whether there is any substance to its values diplomacy or if it’s merely a branding strategy. Large protests in Tokyo by Myanmarese residents seek to pressure Tokyo to side with their nation’s democratic aspirations, but the Japanese government is signaling that it will work with the junta.

Tokyo managed to get President Trump to back PM Abe’s vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and participate in the Quad security component involving Australia, India, the US and Japan. Ostensibly, FOIP is a values-driven strategic concept aimed at containing China’s expanding regional influence. The conceit is that values matter and that by promoting democracy, freedom and human rights, FOIP stands in stark contrast to what China offers. PM Suga and President Biden have reaffirmed their support for FOIP and the Quad. Does this matter? In the case of Myanmar, not if one narrowly focuses on democracy, freedom and human rights.

On the eve of the coup, Watanabe Hideo, chairman of the Japan-Myanmar Association, visited Aung San Suu Kyi and coup leader Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing to discuss boosting Japanese investments there. Watanabe has long been the chief fixer for economic relations and has a long track record of working closely with the military. He and many in Japan are more concerned about China’s soaring influence in Myanmar and are eager to counter that through expanded economic relations. For the new junta and Tokyo, he is a key back channel for communications, but there are no signs that he promoted the democratic transition or supports efforts to reverse democratic backsliding in Myanmar. The Japanese business community sees Myanmar as the region’s most promising frontier and are there to make money regardless of the political situation.

Miyake Kuni, a foreign policy advisor to PM Suga, opposes sanctions and pressure, instead advocating persuasion. He argues that, “a simple resumption of a ‘big stick’ policy vis-a-vis Myanmar would only push the Tatmadaw back to the dark side.” Back to the dark side?! Given the scale of protests against the military coup, it’s safe to say that for the people of Myanmar the military is the dark side and the greatest threat to democracy, the rule of law and public security. Miyake wrote in the Japan Times (Feb. 4, 2021), “What is needed is a subtle and mature supervision of concerted efforts by the international community to resume talking to and eventually persuade the leaders of the Tatmadaw to change their mind.”  And how is that going to happen? The same way that Japan has maturely and subtly persuaded the Thai military to mend its ways? Or subtly used the ‘little stick’ of dialogue to nudge Cambodia’s Hun Sen towards free and fair elections?

According to Stanford University’s Daniel Sneider, a veteran Asia-hand, the Biden Administration rejects such vacuous sophistry. Writing in Tokyo Business Today (Feb 18, 2021), Sneider describes early frustrations in the Biden Administration with Japan’s opposition to sanctions and pressure on the military. Apparently, Tokyo has not been very persuasive in convincing the US to join it in abandoning democracy in Myanmar under the pretext of respecting Asian values.

Tokyo downplays human rights and democratic values in favor of maintaining trade ties and securing geo-strategic advantage. It is thus a values-free diplomacy of pragmatism and expediency, dealing with regional governments as they are, not as one might wish them to be. Japan is certainly not unique in this regard, but Abe and Suga invite scrutiny of the government’s record due to their sustained grandstanding on promoting values.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) pursues a regime-compatible approach to development assistance and thus does not intervene to promote democracy, bypasses civil society and prioritizes smooth relations with recipient nations. From 2007-2016 Japan ranked 26 out of 29 donor nations in terms of its overall aid to democratization-related programs.

JICA official Shiga Hiroaki explains that, “JICA does not support democracy promotion due to an entrenched belief among officials that development aid should be apolitical.”  Japan emphasizes long-term capacity building of state institutions rather than strict adherence to the values and principles of democratic governance. He added, “For the Japanese people, the most important value is harmony, i.e. to keep harmony among community members. Freedom is also an important value but probably after harmony.” But harmony according to who?

One suspects that pro-democracy protestors in Myanmar also seek harmony, one that is based on the military respecting the NLD’s landslide victory and the constitution.

Aid without conditions is welcome by recipients, whether from China or Japan, but this means it is not being used to promote democratization or human rights. The nostrums of shared values are thus invoked by Japan like background music to establish an appealing identity and to provide useful political cover for expanding security ties with other regional governments. The main goal of brandishing democratic commonalities is not about spreading or supporting universal values but rather is to facilitate a shift in Japan’s security policies and shrug off constitutional constraints under the banner of Abe’s “proactive pacifism”.

Japanese experts confide that the impact of, “China’s foreign aid resembles that of Japan, as both emphasize noninterference and noninterventionist principles.” Containing China is more important to Japan’s leaders than expanding or defending democracy in Asia, and thus it refrains from actions that would jeopardize relations with authoritarian or illiberal governments. The crux of the problem is that Tokyo believes that its relations with undemocratic nations might be undermined to the extent that Japan insists that they embrace such values because China offers unconditional support. Thus, Japan’s rivalry with China reinforces Tokyo’s inclination to avert its eyes from human rights abuses, electoral fraud, corruption and suppression of fundamental freedoms. Tokyo is not opposed to liberal democracy but also not prepared to risk anything to support it.

Japanese politicians brandish values principally to align Japan with the US and other regional democracies. Tokyo has expanded security ties with the US, Australia and India, the so-called Quad, as part of its balance of power strategy to contain China, but position this as part of a broader agenda of advancing shared values under the banner of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. The Japanese public has been wary of PM Abe’s agenda of boosting security alliances and easing constitutional constraints on Japan’s armed forces so emphasizing the shared values of a concert of democracies has provided useful political cover.

Even among the ruling elite, there is unhappiness with the government’s hypocrisy. In mid-2020 LDP conservatives condemned Abe’s ‘weak-kneed’ response to China’s curtailing of Hong Kong’s autonomy and crackdown on pro-democracy activists. As in the cases of Tibet and the jailing of over one million Uighurs, Abe didn’t champion the values he preached.  In response to democratic backsliding across Asia, Abe and Suga have remained silent and they have cozied up to human rights suppressing strongmen like Rodrigo Duterte, Hun Sen and Narendra Modi. One wonders what values Japan’s ambassador to Myanmar was promoting as a leading apologist for the military’s expulsions of ethnic Rohingya? That effort should stand Japan in good stead with the new junta, but one has to be incredibly naïve to imagine that Tokyo can persuade Tatmadaw to change its mind. Like Tokyo, the junta is hoping to resume business as usual, but popular discontent and civil disobedience render this wishful thinking. The genie of democracy is out of the bottle.

Japan and the U.S. Differ

Beneath The Surface, Cracks Widen Between Japan and The U.S. Over Burma, Korea

By Daniel Sneider, Lecturer, International Policy at Stanford University and APP member.
Tokyo Business Today, February 18,2021

In the early weeks of the Biden administration, Japan and the United States have gone out of their way to present a united front. Senior Biden officials, from the President on down, have made clear that the alliance with Japan stands at the center of their broader strategy to meet the challenge of China.

In numerous calls, they have offered Tokyo many sought-after assurances of American security guarantees from the Senkakus to nuclear deterrence and echoed Japan’s favorite idea, the creation of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).

But beneath the surface, there is growing frustration in the White House with Japan, cracks over key issues that could widen in coming weeks and months. Behind the scenes, there are differences in how to deal with the military coup in Burma and the corrosive relationship between Japan and South Korea. And those tensions are tied to the bigger question, how to forge an allied response to China.

The military takeover in Burma (Myanmar) is an early crisis for the Biden administration, with the Chinese backing the coup while the United States condemns it and has moved to impose sanctions against the coup leaders. Japan has joined the protest but it has been pointedly cautious about taking punitive steps against the military, worrying that it will undermine Japan’s considerable investment in Burma and simply drive the military into the arms of Beijing.

The emerging Biden administration strategy toward China rests heavily on drawing a line overvalues, framing the “strategic competition” as a contest between democracy and authoritarianism.

“Burma is the first test of Biden’s commitment to democracy and to allies,” says a former senior U.S. official with close ties to the administration. In this test, “right now the number one head-butting issue with Japan is over Burma.”

Japanese officials are privately lecturing their American counterparts about how “Asians are different,” the former official reports. He compares it with the differences in the 1980s, which culminated in the response to the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing when Japan resisted American pressure to impose sanctions on China.

“Their attitude toward Burma looks like the same pattern,” a veteran Japanese foreign affairs journalist observed to me. “They claim that too much pressure won’t help the process of democratization.”

Japanese and American officials are doing their best to bridge these differences. Secretary of State Antony Blinken got on the phone last week with Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu to try to find a formula for cooperation and Motegi signaled a readiness to join public statements. But the Japanese Foreign Minister was more interested in talking about the Chinese Coast Guard.

The Korea Questions
The most serious gap between Tokyo and Washington is not, however, over Burma. It is how to manage relations with South Korea. Within days of taking office, the Biden administration sent a gentle but clear message to their Japanese and Korean allies to move quickly to repair their broken relationship.

In phone calls with their Japanese and Korean counterparts, President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken made a point of the importance to the U.S. of restoring “trilateral U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea cooperation.”

They repeat this at every opportunity – in his call with Motegi last week, Blinken “welcomed further regional cooperation, including through U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral coordination and the Quad.”

Behind this lies the growing fear in Washington that the breach between Japan and Korea will blow a massive strategic hole in the Biden plan to strengthen regional security networks, including the Quad.

China and North Korea are “targeting that fissure” between Japan and South Korea, says a former senior Obama administration defense planner. Without restoring some functional trust, the idea of a regional security structure may never be realized, Biden officials worry.

Relations between Japan and South Korea are at “their lowest levels in decades,” a recent report on U.S.-Japan relations issued by the Congressional Research Service concluded. While the administration of Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide gives its nod to the idea of trilateral security cooperation, it is resisting the American push to improve relations with Seoul, particularly when it comes to the battles over wartime history issues.

“On trilateral security cooperation, we also believe it is crucial if we want to pressurize North Korea as well as China on the issue of North Korea denuclearization,” a senior official in the Prime Minister’s National Security Secretariat (NSS) told me. But security should be completely separated from those historical issues, which are matters that “basically need to be addressed between Japan and Korea.”

This reflects what American officials heard from Suga himself in his first telephone talk with Biden after he took office. “The call was great except Suga pushed back hard on Biden’s desire to see Japan-ROK relations improve,” the well-informed former senior official told me. The Japanese leader told Biden that the Koreans have effectively broken the 1965 treaty normalizing relations between the two countries and “they have to make that right first.”

While Tokyo is rebuffing the Biden administration, President Moon has taken a different tack. Last month, Moon surprisingly shifted his tone and signaled an interest in warming up relations with Japan.

The Korean leader reaffirmed that the 2015 agreement on “comfort women” remains intact as an official pact and expressed unhappiness with a Korean court decision demanding that Japan pay compensation to survive women. He also indicated a desire to put off the liquidation of Japanese company assets seized as part of a Korean court decision to grant compensation to Korean forced laborers.

South Korean experts point to several factors behind the shift.

Moon is entering his last year in office and is somewhat desperate to make a breakthrough in his bid to engage North Korea and secure a formal end to the Korean war. The Moon Blue House is worried that the Biden administration will put negotiations with North Korea on the back burner and they are looking for ways to revive momentum.

“Bringing Japan into the diplomatic game is being seriously considered under circumstances when summit diplomacy between Trump and Kim Jong Un is gone,” says Seoul National University Professor Park Cheol Hee, one of the leading Japan experts in Korea. Koreans hope the Summer Olympic Games may offer a venue to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang.

Moon and his advisors also anticipated the pressure coming from the new Biden administration to improve ties with Japan and wanted to get out ahead and demonstrate to Washington their willingness to cooperate. “The Moon administration faced a need to show an initiative to ameliorate ties between Korea and Japan before Biden steps in,” says Park, an advocate of improving relations.

All this takes place as Moon’s popularity is declining and the use of anti-Japanese nationalism to boost popularity seems to have worn thin of late. “The mood of the day in Korea is that blaming Japan is no longer delivering wonderful political scores to President Moon and the ruling party,” Professor Park told me.

Despite these factors, Moon’s gestures fall well short of what either Tokyo, or Korean backers of improved relations, feels is needed. On the issue of the ‘comfort women,’ while Moon affirmed the validity of the 2015 agreement, he did nothing to restore it.

The South Korean government moved to freeze the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, which was funded by Japan and provided compensation payments to two-thirds of the surviving women.

The forced labor issue is a far more complicated legal issue and also poses a dangerous ‘red line’ in relations if the Korean courts go ahead and liquidate Japanese assets. The Japanese government has argued since the court decisions were issued, that this issue was settled by the 1965 treaty, which provided compensation in a limited fashion, and which also includes a provision for disputes over claims to be settled by an arbitration panel.

Ideas to settle this issue have been circulating for some months, including a proposal floated by a senior Korean politician to create a foundation similar to the one created by Germany some 20 years ago to provide compensation to forced laborers, with funds provided by both Japanese and Korean firms. [The Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future, known as The German Future Fund, grants also go to democracy promotion and human rights]

Privately there is some interest in such ideas in both Korea and Japan – and American officials are also aware of these discussions and may offer to help the process.

But it requires the two governments to show the political will to solve the problem, which so far has not been evident.

“Prime Minister Suga would not take a risk in resolving this issue before he is re-elected as Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party in September or has an election victory,” former South Korean foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan, an important actor in Korea-Japan relations, told me.

A senior advisor to Prime Minister Suga expressed deep skepticism that President Moon is really ready to act and even if he did, the Japanese worry that he will shift in response to political pressures, “allowing the South Koreans to move the goalpost once again.”

For the Biden administration, this is an early lesson in how grand visions – in this case of an Indo-Pacific regional partnership and revived alliances – can founder on the rocks of domestic politics.

Monday in Washington, September 17, 2018

WILL DEMOCRACY WIN? THE RECURRING BATTLE BETWEEN LIBERALISM AND ITS ADVERSARIES. 9/17, 9:30-10:45am. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings, Former Member, State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World; Amb. Norman Eisen, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic, The Last Palace: Europe’s Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House. Moderators: William A. Galston, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings; Alina Polyakova, Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings. Moderator: John R. Allen, President, Brookings.

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CONVERSATION WITH SIX FORMER USTRS. 9/17, 10:00am-Noon. Speaker: William Brock, U.S. Trade Representative (1981-1985); Carla Hills, U.S. Trade Representative (1989-1993); Michael Kantor, U.S. Trade Representative (1993-1996); Charlene Barshefsky, U.S. Trade Representative (1996-2001), Susan Schwab, U.S. Trade Representative (2006-2009); Ronald Kirk, U.S. Trade Representative (2009-2013); William Alan Reinsch, Senior Adviser, Scholl Chair in International Business, CSIS.

CHINA'S ROLE IN MYANMAR'S INTERNAL CONFLICTS. 9/17, 11:00am-12:30pm. Sponsor: U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). Speakers: Amb. Derek Mitchell, Former U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar, President, National Democratic Institute; Daniel Twining, President, International Republican Institute; David Steinberg, Professor Emeritus, Asian Studies, GTU, Nancy Lindborg, President, USIP. Moderator: Jennifer Staats, Director, East and Southeast Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace.

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WHY ISLAMIST EXTREMISTS QUIT TERRORISM: INSIGHTS FROM INDONESIA'S DE-RADICALIZATION PROGRAMS. 9/17,12:30-1:45pm. Sponsor: US-Indonesia Society (USINDO). Speakers: author, Julie Chernov Hwang; Moderator: William M. Wise, Practitioner-in-Residence, Southeast Asia Studies, SAIS. cation: USINDO, 1625 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Suite 550. Contact:

DISCUSSION ON NATIONAL SECURITY WITH DIA DIRECTOR ROBERT AHSLEY. 9/17, 1:30-3:00pm. Sponsor: CSIS. Speaker: Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley, Jr., Director, Defense Intelligence Agency; Moderators: Seth G. Jones, Harold Brown Chair, Director, Transnational Threats Project, Senior Adviser, International Security Program; Juan C. Zarate, Chairman, Financial Integrity Network, Senior Adviser, Transnational Threats Project and Human Rights Initiative.

JAPAN IN ASIA: ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEW GEOPOLITICS. 9/17, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: Pek Koon Heng-Blackburn, Assistant Professor, School of International Service, Director, ASEAN Studies Center, American University; Fukunari Kimura, Chief Economist, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Professor, Economics, Keio University; Meredith Sumpter, Head, Research Strategy & Operations, Eurasia Group; Shujiro Urata, Dean, Professor, Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Waseda University. Moderator: Mireya Solis, Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, Senior Fellow, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings.

SINO-US ECONOMIC AND TRADE RELATIONS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. 9/17, 9:00am-4:30pm. Sponsors: Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE); China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Speakers will include: The Hon. Jacob J. Lew, Former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Partner, Lindsay Goldberg; C. Fred Bergsten, Senior Fellow, Director Emeritus, PIIE; Cui Tiankai, Ambassador to the United States from the People’s Republic of China; Caroline Freund, Director, Trade for Regional Integration and Investment Climate, World Bank; Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Nonresident Senior Fellow, PIIE; Jiang Xiaojuan, Vice Chairperson, Committee of Social Construction of the National People’s Congress; Adam S. Posen, President, PIIE; Xie Fuzhan, President, CASS; Yu Yongding, Former Director, Institute of World Economics and Politics, CASS. Streaming only.

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LEGACY OF ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: REMARKS BY MADELINE K. ALBRIGHT. 9/17, 4:30-6:00pm. Sponsor: Foreign Policy Institute, (FPI), SAIS, Johns Hopkins. Speakers: Vali Nasr, Dean, SAIS, Johns Hopkins; Madeline K. Albright, former Secretary of State; Moderator: Carla P. Freeman, Director, FPI, SAIS, Johns Hopkins.

FOOD INSECURITY AS A SECURITY CHALLENGE. 9/17, 6:00-7:00pm. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Amb. Ertharin Cousin, Former Executive Director, World Food Programme; Moderator: Nina Easton, Senior Associate, CSIS Chair, Fortune Most Powerful Women International, Co-Chair, Fortune Global Forum.

MY FAVORITE MOVIE WITH FRANCIS FUKUYAMA: THE LIVES OF OTHERS. 9/17, 6:30-8:00pm. Sponsors: Future Tense; Slate; New America; Arizona State University. Speaker: Francis Fukuyama, Senior Fellow, Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, author End of History and the Last Man.

Monday in Washington, July 29,2018

INDO-PACIFIC BUSINESS FORUM. 7/30, 8:30am-3:30pm. Sponsor: U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Speakers: Karan Bhatia, President, Government Affairs & Policy, General Electric; Hon. Katrina Cooper, Deputy Head of Mission, Australia; Amb. Jeffrey Gerrish, Acting President, EXIM Bank and Deputy United States Trade Representative; Mark Green, Administrator, US Agency for International Development; Tadashi Maeda, Governor, Japan Bank for International Cooperation; H.E. Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Ambassador of Singapore to the US; Matt Pottinger, NSC Senior Director for Asia Affairs; H.E. Navtej Sarna, Ambassador of India to the US.

SPACE FORCE: THE PROS AND CONS OF CREATING A NEW MILITARY BRANCH. 7/30, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: Brookings Institution. Speakers: Deborah Lee James, Former Secretary, U.S. Air Force; Steve Jacques, Managing Partner, Velos CC; Michael E. O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Director of Research, Foreign policy, The Sydney Stein, Jr. Chair; Frank A. Rose, Senior Fellow, Security and Strategy, Foreign Policy; Brian Weeden, Director of Program Planning, Secure World Foundation.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? ONE YEAR AFTER THE ROHINGYA CRISIS. 7/30, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Heritage Foundation. Speakers: Amb. Kelley E. Currie, Representative of the United States on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations; Francisco Bencosme, Asia Pacific Advocacy Manager, Amnesty International; U Kyaw Min, Former Member of Parliament, Burma; Olivia Enos, Policy Analyst, Asian Studies Center, Heritage Foundation; Moderator: Walter Lohman, Director, Asian Studies Center, Heritage Foundation.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MILITARY CLOUD: BEST PRACTICES, INNOVATION AND SECURITY. 7/30, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Hudson Institute. Speakers: Roger Waldron, President, Coalition for Government Procurement; William Schneider Jr., Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute; Tod Lindberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute.

HALLYU AT HIGH TIDE: KOREAN CULTURE TAKES OFF IN THE UNITED STATES. 7/30, Noon-1:30pm, Lunch, Washington, DC. Sponsors: KEI; Korea Society. Speakers: Tamar Herman, Billboard K-pop Columnist, Forbes Contributing Writer; Luz Lanzot, Program Officer for Education, Korea Society; Adam Wojciechowicz, Public Affairs Specialist; Korean Culture Center, Washington, DC; Moderator: Jenna Gibson, Director of Communications, KEI.

THE NUCLEAR FUTURE: CAN THERE BE ORDER WITHOUT TRUST? 7/30, 12:30-2:00pm. Sponsor: Stimson. Speakers: Heather Williams, Lecturer in Defense Studies, Kings College London; Justin Anderson, Senior Research Fellow, National Defense University’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction; Rebecca Gibbons, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Sara Kutchesfahani, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation; Michael Krepon, Co-Founder, Stimson; Hannah Haegeland, Research Analyst, South Asia Program, Stimson.

BOOK LAUNCH: GOVERNING THE UNGOVERNABLE: INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS FOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN. 7/30, 3:00-4:00pm. Sponsor: Asia Program, Wilson Center. Speaker: author Ishrat Husain, Global Fellow, Dean and Director, Institute of Business Administration (Karachi); Moderator: Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia.

Monday in Washington June 25, 2018

THE NEW DYNAMICS OF GLOBAL ENERGY: A CONVERSATION WITH IEA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FATIH BIROL. 6/25, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: Brookings. Speaker: Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency. Moderator: David G. Victor, Co-Chair, Foreign Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative.

THE CLASH OF GENERATIONS? INTERGENERATIONAL CHANGE AND AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY VIEWS. 6/25, 11:00am-12:30pm. Sponsor: CATO. Speakers: Dina Smeltz, Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Will Ruger, Vice President of Research and Policy, Charles Koch Institute; Trevor Thrall, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute and Associate Professor, Scholar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University.

JAPAN’S ENERGY CONUNDRUM. 6/25, Noon-2:00pm. Sponsor: Sasakawa. Speakers: Admiral Dennis Blair, Chairman and Distinguished Senior Fellow, Sasakawa; Tom Cutler, Energy Consultant; Jane Nakano, Senior Fellow, Energy and Security Program, CSIS; Dr. Michael Smitka, Professor of Economics, Washington and Lee University; Nobuo Tanaka, Chairman, Sasakawa; Dr. Phyllis Genther Yoshida, Senior Fellow for Energy and Technology, Sasakawa; Moderator: Dr. Kent Calder, Director of Asia Programs, Director of Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, SAIS, Johns Hopkins.

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A DISCUSSION ON THE NEXT STEPS IN THE ROHINGYA CRISIS. 6/25, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Atlantic Council. Speakers: Ambassador Farooq Sobhan, President and CEO, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute. Moderator: Dr. Bharath Gopalaswamy, Director, South Asia Center Atlantic Council.

ACROSS THE TAIWAN STRAIT: FROM COOPERATION TO CONFRONTATION?– REFLECTING ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ALAN D. ROMBERG. 6/25, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Stimson Center. Speakers; Thomas Christensen, Professor, Princeton University; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2006-2008); Steve Goldstein, Associate, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and Director of the Taiwan Workshop, Harvard University; Yuki Tatsumi, Co-Director, East Asia Program (moderator).

MYSTERY OF MOTHER RUSSIA. 6/25, 4:00-5:30am. Sponsor: International Center for Terrorism Studies at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, Inter-University Center for Legal Studies at International Law Institute, Center for National Security Law at University of Virginia School of Law. Speakers: Author Marvin Kalb, The Year I Was Peter the Great, Edward R. Murrow Professor Emeritus, Harvard Kennedy School, Senior advisor, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Nonresident fellow, Brookings; Don Wallace Jr., Chairman, International Law Institute; Moderator: Yonah Alexander, Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

Monday in Washington, February 12, 2018

GEOSTRATEGIC FLASHPOINT: THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. 2/12, 9:00-10:00am. Sponsor: Europe Program & Middle East Program, CSIS. Speakers: Adm. James G. Foggo, III, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa; Heather A. Conley,Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic; Director, Europe Program, CSIS; Jon B. Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, Director, Middle East Program, CSIS.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE. 2/12, 10:00am-Noon. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy David Trachtenberg, Jim Miller, under secretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration; Madelyn Creedon, principal deputy administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration during the Obama administration; James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment; and Robert Einhorn of Brookings.

RESPONDING TO THE ROHINGYA CRISIS WITH ETHICAL LEADERSHIP. 2/12, 11:30am-1:00pm. Sponsor: Elliott School, GWU. Speakers: Dr. Wakar, Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Director General, Arakan Rohingya Union, Founding Chairman, Burmese Rohingya Association North America; Amb. Derek Mitchell, CEO, Shwe Strategies LLC, Senior Advisor, Albright Stonebridge Group, US Institute of Peace. Moderator: Dr. Christina Fink, Professor of Practice of International Affairs, Elliott School, GWU. 

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ELECTION SECURITY IN 50 STATES: DEFENDING AMERICA’S ELECTIONS. 2/12, 11:30am-1:15pm. Sponsor: Center for American Progress. Speakers include: Neera Tanden, President & CEO, Center for American Progress ; Jeh Johnson, Former US Secretary of Homeland Security ; Judd Choate, Director of Elections, State of Colorado; Edgardo Cortes, Former Commissioner of Elections, Commonwealth of Virginia. Moderators: Neera Tanden, President & CEO, Center for American Progress; Winnie Stachelberg, Executive Vice President, External Affairs, Center for American Progress.

IRAN’S POLITICAL FUTURE. 2/12, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council. Speakers: Nazila Fathi, Journalist, Author, The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran; Suzanne Maloney, Deputy Director, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings; Alireza Nader, Senior International Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation. Moderator: Barbara Slavin, Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council.

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RELIGION, SECULARISM AND DEMOCRACY IN DUTERTE'S PHILIPPINES. 2/12, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Berkley Center, Georgetown University. Speakers: David Buckley, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Paul Weber Endowed Chair in Politics, Science & Religion, University of Louisville, Author, Faithful to Secularism: The Religious Politics of Democracy in Ireland, Senegal and the Philippines; Shaun Casey, Director, Berkley Center, Professor of the Practice, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Senior Fellow, Luce Project on Religion and Its Publics, University of Virginia.

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REMAPPING IR: PROTEAN POWER: EXPLORING THE UNCERTAIN AND UNEXPECTED IN WORLD POLITICS. 2/12, 12:30-1:30pm. Sponsor: Mortara Center for International Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Services, Georgetown University. Speakers: Peter Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter Professor of International Studies, Cornell University, Former President, American Political Science Association; Lucia Seybert, Professorial Lecturer, School of International Service, American University.

U.S.-PAKISTAN RELATIONS AT A TURNING POINT: WHAT’S NEXT? 2/12, 2:30-4:00pm. Sponsor: Asia Center, US Institute of Peace (USIP). Speakers: Tanvi Madan, Director, India Project, Brookings; Amb. Richard Olson, Former Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan; David Sedney, Senior Associate, International Security Program, CSIS; Moeed Yusuf, Associate Vice President, USIP. Moderator: Andrew Wilder, Vice President, USIP.

EUROPE'S CHALLENGE OF RADICALIZATION-VULNERABLE YOUTH AND TECHNIQUES OF COUNTER-TERRORISM. 2/12, 4:30-6:30pm. Sponsor: SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Speaker: Hon. Koen Geens Louran, Minister of Justice of Belgium.

CRYPTOCURRENCIESAND BLOCKCHAIN: TECHNO-GOLD OR FOOL’S GOLD? 2/12, 5:00-6:30pm. Sponsor: American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Speakers: Jerry Dwyer, Professor, BB&T Scholar, Clemson University; Bert Ely, Principal, Ely & Company Inc., Adjunct Scholar, Cato; Paul H. Kupiec, Resident Scholar, AEI; Hadley Stern, Senior Vice President, Fidelity Investments. Moderator: Alex J. Pollock, Distinguished Senior Fellow, R Street Institute.

#CATODIGITAL — BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING:FISA SECTION 702 AND THE MODERN SURVEILLANCE STATE. 2/12, 6:00-7:00pm. Sponsor: Cato. Speakers: Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI); Patrick G. Eddington, Policy Analyst, Homeland Security and Civil Liberties, Cato, Former Military Imagery Analyst, National Photographic Interpretation Center, CIA. Moderator: Kat Murti, Senior Digital Outreach Manager, Cato.

WHAT ABOUT FRANCE, EUROPE, AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS? 2/12, 6:30-8:00pm. Sponsor: SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Speaker: Frédéric Bozo, Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle, University of Paris III. Moderator: John L. Harper, Kenneth H. Keller Professor, American Foreign Policy, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University.

Monday in Washington, November 6, 2017

CLINTON 25: GEORGETOWN REFLECTS ON THE VISION OF BILL CLINTON. 11/6, 9:00am-6:00pm. Sponsor: Georgetown University, Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy. Speakers: President Bill Clinton; Bruce Reed, former Chief Domestic Policy Advisor; Rahm Emanuel, former Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy; Minyon Moore, former Director of White House Political Affairs; Maria Echaveste, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff; Mike Bailey, Interim Dean, McCourt School of Public Policy (Moderator); Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State; President Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico; Strobe Talbott, former Deputy Secretary of State; Joel Hellman, Dean, Walsh School of Foreign Service (Moderator); Mack McLarty, former White House Chief of Staff, Clinton Administration; Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff, Clinton Administration; John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff, Clinton Administration; Judy Feder, Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy; Faculty Liaison, Baker Center on Leadership and Governance (Moderator). 

THE NEW EURASIA ENERGY LANDSCAPE. 11/6, 9:00am-2:00pm. Sponsor: German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF). Speakers: Jonathan Katz, Resident Fellow, GMF; Steven Burns, USAID E&E Bureau Director of Energy and Infrastructure office; Will Polen, Senior Director, United States Energy Association; Robert Scher, Head of International Affairs, BP America; Jonathan Elkind, Former Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs, Department of Energy; John McCarrick, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Energy Resources, U.S. State Department.

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE NORTH KOREA? 11/6, 9:00am-Noon. Sponsor: Cato. Speakers: Bill Richardson, Former Governor of New Mexico and North Korea Negotiator; Joe Cirincione, President, Ploughshares Fund; Suzanne DiMaggio, Senior Fellow, New America. 

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ALLIES UNDER THE SHADOW: THAILAND, THE PHILIPPINES, AND THE STATE OF U.S. ALLIANCES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. 11/6, 11:00am-Noon. Sponsor: Southeast Asia Program, CSIS. Speakers: Dr. John Blaxland, Director, Southeast Asia Institute; Richard Heydarian, Resident Political Analyst, GMA Network; Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery (Ret.), Policy Director, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee; Moderator: Dr. Amy E. Searight, Senior Adviser and Director, Southeast Asia Program, CSIS.

BRAZIL AND CHINA: A DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIP? 11/6, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Elliott School of International Affairs, GW. Speakers: André Soares, Counselor, Inter-American Development Bank's Board of Directors; David Shambaugh, Director, China Policy Program, Elliott School of International Affairs. 

INDIA'S RESPONSES TO THE COMPLEX ROHINGYA CRISIS IN MYANMAR. 11/6, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: East-West Center. Speaker: Baladas Ghoshal, Secretary General, Society for Indian Ocean Studies.

NORTH KOREA PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. 11/6, Noon.. Sponsors: Monday Forums, joint project of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, and Public Diplomacy Council. Speaker: Robert Ogburn, visiting State Department public diplomacy fellow, School of Media and Public Affairs, GWU. Location: American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E St., NW. Contact:

ISLAM AND THE STATE IN CENTRAL ASIA - A FRIEDRICH EBERT FOUNDATION REPORT. 11/6, 2017, 12:30–2:00pm. Sponsor: Central Asia Program, Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, GW. Speakers: Dr. Sanat Kushkumbayev, Deputy Director, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

13TH ANNUAL ALVIN H. BERNSTEIN LECTURE WITH ROBERT O. WORK, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE. 11/6, 4:45-7:00pm. Sponsor: SAIS, Johns Hopkins. Speaker: Secretary Work is the Distinguished Senior Fellow for Defense and National Security at the Center for a New American Security and the owner of TeamWork, LLC, which specializes in national security affairs and the future of warfare.

REALISM AND DEMOCRACY: AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AFTER THE ARAB SPRING. 11/6, 5:00-7:00pm, Sponsor: Hoover Institution. Speakers: Elliott Abrams, Author, Senior Fellow, Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); Samuel Tadros, Visiting Fellow, Middle Eastern Studies, Hoover Institution. 

Monday in Washington, September 18, 2017

TAIWAN'S ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP. 9/18, 8:30-10:00am. Sponsor: China Studies, CSIS. Speakers: Lee, Ying-yuan, Minister of Environmental Protection, Taiwan; Jane Nishida, Acting Assistant Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; David Ribeiro, Senior Researcher, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; Moderator: Scott Kennedy, Deputy Director, China Studies, CSIS. 

USTR LIGHTHIZER ON U.S. TRADE POLICY PRIORITIES. 9/18, 11:00-11:45am. Sponsor: CSIS. Speaker: Robert Lighthizer, USTR. Location: CSIS, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW. Contact:

MOVING FORWARD WITH ABENOMICS. 9/18, 1:30-2:30pm. Sponsor: Hudson. Speaker: Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister, State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Japan. Moderator: Kenneth R. Weinstein, President and CEO, Hudson.

COMPETITION POLICY FROM A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE: A CONSERSATION WITH EU COMMISSIONER FOR COMPETITION MARGRETHE VESTAGER. 9/18, 1:30- 2:30pm. Sponsor: AEI. Speaker: Margrethe Vestager, European Commission; Moderator: Jeffrey Eisenach, Visiting Scholar, AEI, Director, NERA Economic Consulting.

POPULISM AND THE ECONOMICS OF GLOBALIZATION. 9/18, 2:00pm. Sponsor: Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Speaker: Dani Rodrik, Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

WEIGHING BAD OPTIONS: REFLECTIONS ON PAST DIPLOMACY WITH NORTH KOREA AND ALLIANCE OPTIONS TODAY. 9/18, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsors: U.S.-Japan Research Institute (USJI); Carnegie. Speakers: Christopher Hill, Ambassador, Denver University; Mitoji Yabunaka, Professor, Ritsumeikan University; Keiji Nakatsuji, Operating Advisor, USJI; Doug H. Paal, Vice President, Carnegie; Moderator: James Schoff, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie.

THE IMPACT OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ON US-TAIWAN RELATIONS. 9/18, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: Stimson Center. Speakers: Dr. Hung-jen Wang, Assistant Professor of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University.

AMID TRANSITION AND CONFLICT, 70 YEARS OF U.S.-BURMA TIES. 9/18, 3:00-4:30pm. Sponsor: U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). Speakers: U Aung, Ambassador of Burma to the United States; W. Patrick Murphy, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Southeast Asia, Department of State.

CHINA’S ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC AMBITIONS. 9/18, 4:00-5:00pm. Sponsors: Kissinger Institute at Wilson Center, Polar Initiative. Speaker: Anne Marie Brady, Fellow, Kissinger Institute. Discussant: Michael Sfraga, Director, Polar Initiative. Moderator: Robert Daly, Director, Kissinger Institute.

THE GLOBALIZATION OF VENALITY: KLEPTOCRACY'S CORROSIVE IMPACT ON DEMOCRACY. 9/18, 4:00-5:30pm. Sponsor: National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Speakers: Oliver Bullough, Author, Let Our Fame Be Great and Last Man in Russia; Brett Carter, Professor, University of Southern California; Daniel Fried, Distinguished Fellow, Future Europe Initiative and Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council; Cynthia Gabriel, Founder, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism; Moderator: Christopher Walker, Vice President, Studies and Analysis, NED.