Asia

This chapter compares the foreign policy responses of three “core” ASEAN states—Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore—vis-à-vis an assertive China and a rebalancing America.1 The weaker states have all pursued a hedging…

The four papers in Section 1 compare hedging behavior in countries on the frontline between the rising power China and the reigning hegemon, the United States. The first paper by…

Faced with growing youth unemployment and public dissatisfaction with labor market conditions, representatives from South Korean labor, management, and government finalized an agreement to reform the domestic labor regime in…

Since the death of Kim Il-sung in 1994 there have been numerous predictions that the collapse of the North Korean political system would be imminent, yet the Kim dynasty continues…

Strategically located at the crossroads of Central Asia, China, and Russia, Mongolia has long attracted the attention of regional powers – including the Koreas. How is this traditionally-nomadic, but resource-rich,…

Though hesitant to officially join the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, South Korea is seeking to promote many of the same values through the Moon administration’s “New Southern Policy.” Central to this…

The U.S. Peace Corps was active in South Korea between 1961 and 1981. One of the many volunteers who served in South Korea was KEI president and CEO Kathleen Stephens.…

This month, the world was reminded once again that the relationship between the Republic of Korea and Japan is deeply fractious. Japan has imposed restrictions on the export of chemical…

Finding accurate and current information about North Korea has always been difficult, but steps taken by Pyongyang in an effort to deal with the COVID pandemic have made the problem of getting information about the North even more difficult.  A key source of first-hand information on the ground has been supplied by refugees who have…

The latest OECD Economic Outlook, released on November 22nd, paints a grim picture of the world economy. Russia’s war against Ukraine has resulted in a significant energy price shock similar in magnitude to those seen in the 1970s (Figure 1). High inflation has spread across countries and products, prompting central breaks to raise interest rates,…

In recent days, North Korea’s human rights abuses were again debated at the United Nations and a resolution critical of Pyongyang is being circulated for consideration.  North Korea’s human rights record has been debated and a resolution critical of the government in Pyongyang has been adopted by the UN General Assembly every year since December…

At the end of September, the Republic of Korea attended a meeting of the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP). The initiative, led by the U.S., Australia, Japan, and Britain, aims at working with states in Oceania on advancing regional development. Ahead of the meeting, the Korean government was equivocal to the initiative. "Nothing has…