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Begin New Search Political Geography Asia Publication Year within 10 Years

1101. ASEAN Economic Integration on Services: An Analysis of Economic Impacts and Implications

Author:
Meeryung La
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
ASEAN continues its efforts to liberalize services trade in the region as part of the process of establishing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). ASEAN has been increasing the level of regional liberalization through package negotiations of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS). After signing the 10th AFAS package, the package negotiations were replaced by the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA), which takes a negative list approach and includes regulatory cooperation between member states. Upon this backdrop, this paper attempts to examine the progress of service market integration within ASEAN and analyze the impact of service liberalization pursued by ASEAN. Based on the analysis results, we also present policy implications to enhance cooperation with ASEAN in the service sectors.
Topic:
Economy, Services, ASEAN, Economic Integration, and Regional Economy
Political Geography:
Asia

1102. Increasing Global Climate Ambition and Implications for Korea

Author:
Jinyoung Moon, Soo Hyun Oh, Youngseok Park, Sunghee Lee, and Eunmi Kim
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:
Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, wider and decisive actions to tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been called for in the international community. Many countries are seeking a sustainable economic recovery plan that reflects climate change and environmental considerations. The private sector has also been trying to expand environmentally sustainable investments and disclose relevant information on climate change. In particular, major GHG emitters such as China, the United States (U.S.), European Union (EU), Japan and Korea have pledged to move forward carbon neutrality. For this goal, the EU has established action plans for the European Green Deal, including a plan for introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). In this context, this study aims to propose policy recommendations for Korea by analyzing measures to strengthen reduction targets and the economic impact of the EU's CBAM. The following implications can be derived. First, it is necessary to support low-carbon transition efforts in industries. Second, it is also important to support low-carbon technological innovation. Third, monitoring and response measures for the CBAM should also be prepared. Fourth, the private sector should expand voluntary efforts to reduce emissions and environmentally sustainable investment. Lastly, it is necessary to actively engage in international cooperation, not only in terms of reducing GHG emissions but also responding to climate change.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Science and Technology, Sustainability, Carbon Emissions, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:
Asia and South Korea

1103. The People of the PLA 2.0

Author:
Roy Kamphausen
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The 27th annual People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Conference—“The People in the PLA” 2.0—revisited a theme first explored at the 2006 conference but understudied since. This volume examines how the structure, education, training, and recruitment of PLA personnel have changed in the last decade and in the Xi Jinping era. Structural changes in the PLA have centered around two poles: improving the warfighting readiness of the PLA and strengthening Communist Party of China (CPC) control of the PLA. Reforms to the political work system, the evolution of the Second Artillery into the Rocket Force, and expansion of the PLA’s foreign-based force posture all indicate that the PLA is accelerating its drive to become a world-class military. To succeed in future “informatized” wars, the PLA recognizes it must improve its members’ education level. It seeks to leverage better China’s civilian education system while also addressing legacy issues that frustrate professional military education and the care of its veterans. The PLA is also reforming joint education and seeking insight from its exchanges and interactions with other nations’ militaries. The revamping of its academic institutions to support better its most technical and advanced entities for network warfare and other operations is indicative of the PLA’s fast-paced evolution.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Armed Forces, Xi Jinping, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Recruitment, Professional Military Education, and People's Liberation Army (PLA)
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1104. Exporting the War on Terror: Islamophobia in Asia

Author:
Khaled A. Beydoun and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Join us for a fireside chat between Professor Khaled Beydoun and Professor Sahar Aziz on the latest legal and political developments in the troubling rise of Global Islamophobia in India, China, and other Asian countries.
Topic:
Human Rights, Populism, Islamophobia, and War on Terror
Political Geography:
China, India, and Asia

1105. Don’t Interfere, Integrate: China Proposes (Yet Another) Middle East Peace Initiative

Author:
Tuvia Gering
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
Israel should work with China so that its initiative doesn’t interfere with the Abraham Accords, and should seek to capitalize on common denominators between Beijing and Washington.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and Peace
Political Geography:
China, Middle East, Israel, Asia, North America, and United States of America

1106. Israel, help India fight COVID-19

Author:
Oshrit Birvadker
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
The world is watching India’s coronavirus catastrophe, and it could use any lifeline at this point. Israel could now help this Asiatic power overcome one of the most serious crises in its history.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Middle East, India, Israel, and Asia

1107. “The Montreux Petition” and Creeping Islamization of the Turkish Military

Author:
Hay Ertan Cohen Yanarocak
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
A storm over a petition by retired naval officers once again has revealed longstanding tensions between the civilian Turkish government and the Turkish military, and Erdogan’s plans for advancing pro-regime Islamists in the military.
Topic:
Security, Religion, Military Strategy, and Civil-Military Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Asia

1108. EU-China Engagement in Humanitarian Aid: Different Approaches, Shared Interests?

Author:
Ina Friesen and Leon Janauschek
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
Protracted crises and frequent natural disasters have generated an unprecedented number of people in need of humanitarian assistance. The international community faces a great challenge in supporting these populations, as the gap between needs and available funding is growing. To close this resource gap, the European Union (EU) aims to step up its engagement with emerging donors, particularly China, to increase their level of funding. Although China has previously been reluctant to engage in the international humanitarian system, its response to the COVID-19 pandemic indicates a change in attitude. Over the past year, China has delivered hundreds of tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) to over 150 countries and dispatched medical teams abroad. It has also donated $100 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) and pledged to establish a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China in cooperation with the UN. Amidst increasing geopolitical tensions between China and the EU, China’s growing humanitarian engagement opens an opportunity for the EU to engage with China in the humanitarian sector. However, rather than framing China’s increased engagement in solely financial terms, the EU should develop a long-term strategy as to how to engage with China on humanitarian matters. A dialogue that takes both parties’ different approaches towards humanitarian aid into account and searches for common ground could open the door towards possible cooperation. This would not only help in narrowing the funding gap but carry the potential for greater coordination and consequently more effective assistance provision. China conceptualises humanitarian aid as a subcategory of development aid and provides the majority of its assistance bilaterally. Beijing’s state-centric approach to humanitarian assistance means in practice that it engages mostly in the aftermath of natural disasters rather than conflict settings. The EU, on the other hand, has a separate humanitarian aid policy that guides the allocation of funds and provides its humanitarian assistance through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This Briefing Paper maps out the characteristics of Chinese humanitarian aid and outlines two areas on which the EU’s tentative steps towards a dialogue with China could focus. • Food security sector: Food insecurity is a key component in existing humanitarian needs, only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Food assistance and nutrition are already a key area of engagement for the EU and China. The EU should advocate for China to scale up its contributions to global food security through the World Food Programme (WFP), with whom China has a good working relationship. This could be combined with a political dialogue on how to foster cooperation on food security assistance. • Anticipatory humanitarian aid: Disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response play an increasingly important role in global humanitarian aid. China has built up its most significant expertise in response to natural disasters. Enhancement of disaster risk reduction is one of the strategic priorities of the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) for 2020–2024. In light of both parties’ interest in anticipatory humanitarian aid, knowledge exchange in this area has the potential to open the door for future cooperation.
Topic:
International Relations, Humanitarian Aid, European Union, Food Security, and Engagement
Political Geography:
China, Europe, and Asia

1109. Getting to 30-60: How China’s Biggest Coal Power, Cement, and Steel Corporations Are Responding to National Decarbonization Pledges

Author:
Edmund Downie
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:
In September 2020, China announced its intentions to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The neutrality goal in particular was a breakthrough for global climate ambitions: a net-zero target from the world’s largest emitter, responsible for around one-quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The two new goals—referred to in Chinese policy discourse as the “30-60” goals—are not China’s first public targets on GHG reduction. They are, however, the centerpieces of a new Chinese climate policy in which GHG cuts are a standalone goal rather than an ancillary benefit of more immediate priorities like energy efficiency and industrial upgrading. Prior approaches had required little engagement from firms in carbon management. Indeed, none of the largest Chinese firms in the coal power, cement, and steel sectors had publicized quantitative targets for reducing or controlling carbon emissions before the government announced the 30-60 goals. They faced little pressure to do so; authorities pressed firms in climate-adjacent areas like reducing air pollution rather than carbon management. The 30-60 announcement appears to mark a break from this era, forcing firms to adjust accordingly. This report, part of the China Energy and Climate Program at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, assesses how China’s high-emitting industries have responded to the 30-60 targets and the accompanying elevation of climate within national policy priorities. It focuses on corporate and sectoral emissions reduction targets through June 2021 among 30 major firms in three of China’s largest sources of direct emissions: coal power generation, cement, and steel.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Coal, Industry, and Decarbonization
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1110. How to avoid the repetition of history: the case of North Korea

Author:
Song Young Gil
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
To most European audiences, the issue of the North Korean nuclear programme and its intercontinental ballistic missile development is a neglected topic that is not frequently covered by the international news unless there has been a severe provocation. Most often, North Korea is seen as a country with a young, ruthless leader, and a people who show cult-like support to its regime.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons, History, and Denuclearization
Political Geography:
Asia and North Korea

1111. Green Giants? China’s National Oil Companies Prepare for the Energy Transition

Author:
Erica Downs
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:
On September 22, 2020, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, made a surprise announcement about China’s climate ambitions during remarks to the United Nations General Assembly. He stated that China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs), aims to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Xi also said that China’s GHG emissions would peak before 2030, a slight revision to China’s pledge under the Paris Climate Agreement to peak emissions around 2030. China’s new climate targets spurred the country’s three major national oil companies (NOCs)—China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)—to strengthen their climate ambitions. PetroChina (the flagship subsidiary of CNPC), which had already set a goal of achieving near-zero emissions by 2050, intends to peak its carbon emissions by 2025. Sinopec Corp. (the flagship subsidiary of Sinopec Group) also aims to peak its carbon emissions by 2025 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. CNOOC Ltd. (the flagship subsidiary of CNOOC) plans to reduce its GHG emissions by 16 percent between 2020 and 2025 and aims to peak its carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. This report, part of the China Energy and Climate Program at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, provides a baseline for understanding how China’s NOCs are responding to climate change. It examines the activities the three companies identified as part of their emerging energy transition strategies before Xi unveiled the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets, and why they didn’t do more. The report then assesses the implications of China’s new climate ambitions for its NOCs and lays out their preparations to date for supporting Xi’s 2030 and 2060 pledges.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Oil, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Green Technology
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1112. Collecting Tibet: A Roundtable Discussion with Four Curators

Author:
Karl Debreczeny, Elena Pakhoutova, Kurt Behrendt, and Jeff Durham
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
How do curators approach representing Tibetan collections in their respective museums? What are the ways in which they make their collections accessible to the public and their specific audience? What digital initiatives related to Tibetan art and culture these museums offer or plan to develop? The event included individual presentations from each of the curators followed by a discussion. This event was cosponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, the Modern Tibetan Studies Program at Columbia University and the Rubin Museum of Art.
Topic:
Arts, Culture, and Museums
Political Geography:
Asia and Tibet

1113. China Coup: The Great Leap to Freedom

Author:
Roger Garside and Andrew Nathan
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
This short book predicts—contrary to the prevailing consensus—that China’s leader Xi Jinping will very soon be removed from office in a coup d’état mounted by rivals in the top leadership. The leaders of the coup will then end China’s one-party dictatorship and launch a transition to democracy and the rule of law. Long-time diplomat, development banker, and author Roger Garside draws on his deep knowledge of Chinese politics and economics first to develop a detailed scenario of how these events may unfold, and then—in the main body of the book—to explain why. His gripping, persuasive account of how Chinese leaders plot and plan away from the public eye is unique in published literature. Garside argued that under Xi’s overconfident leadership, China is on a collision course with an America that is newly awakened out of complacency. As Xi’s rivals look abroad, they are alarmed that he is blind to the reactions that China’s actions have provoked from the world’s strongest power and its allies. In domestic affairs, Xi’s rivals recognize that economic and social change without political reform have created problems that require not just new leaders but a new system of government. Security abroad and stability at home demand a revolution to which Xi is implacably opposed. To save China—and themselves—from catastrophe, they must remove him and end the dictatorship he is determined to defend. But their will and capacity to do so depend crucially on how liberal democracies act. Garside’s scenario shows America leading its allies in creating the conditions in which Xi’s rivals move against him.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Politics, Leadership, and Coup
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1114. Understanding Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau: Climate Data and Community Knowledge

Author:
Emily Yeh, Huatse Gyal, Kelly Hopping, Hung Nguyen, Boniface Fosu, and Brendan Buckley
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
The Tibetan Plateau spans more than one million square miles at the center of Eurasia with an average elevation of over 12,000 feet - by far the most extensive high-altitude region on Earth. Resulting from the collision of continental plates more than 50 million years ago, the Tibetan Plateau continues to play a major role in determining the climate that we experience today. More recently, the Tibetan Plateau has seen more significant warming than surrounding regions due to its higher altitude. As such, Tibetan communities are at the forefront of experiencing the impacts of climate change and their knowledge of such changes may contribute to better understanding the effects of a changing climate on this most significant region. This round table brought together social science researchers working with Tibetan pastoralist communities on the Tibetan Plateau and climate scientists who have worked in the Himalayas and Asia to discuss how interdisciplinary approaches might enrich understandings of climate change on the Tibetan Plateau and contribute to our knowledge of global climate change.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Pastoralism, and Social Science
Political Geography:
Asia and Tibet

1115. Mobility and Empire in Japanese History

Author:
David Ambaras, Martin Dusinberre, Takahiro Yamamoto, Youjia Li, and Paul Kreitman
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
This panel will gather four scholars engaged in ongoing research on the history of mobility (and immobility) within and beyond the borders of Imperial Japan. Takahiro Yamamoto (University of Heidelberg) will present on “Identification documents and human mobility in the Japanese empire,” exploring how foreign diplomatic pressure and the need to surveil the mobility of colonial populations influenced the Japanese government’s border control policy. Martin Dusinberre (University of Zurich) will present a paper titled "The Archiving of Japanese Mobility in late-nineteenth century Queensland", analysing the history of Japanese migration to Australia under British colonial rule. Youjia Li (Harvard University) will focus on the role of human locomotive power in Japan's formal empire in her paper "The Unexpected Network: Push-car Railways and the Change of Local Mobility in Colonial Taiwan" . David Ambaras (North Carolina State University) will serve as discussant.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Migration, Border Control, History, Colonialism, Empire, and Mobility
Political Geography:
Japan and Asia

1116. China’s COVID Response and the State of Local Finance in the Xi Jinping Era

Author:
Christine Wong, Carl Riskin, and Qin Gao
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
In China’s decentralised fiscal system, since virtually all vital public services such as education, healthcare, and social welfare are provided by local governments, a well-functioning intergovernmental fiscal system is essential to ensure local governments have adequate incentives and resources to perform their role. Since 1978, China has overhauled its public finances to create a system able to finance government operations, support economic growth, and supply revenues for the government’s ambitious industrial policies and international initiatives. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed new challenges to China’s public finance that is likely to continue in the years to come. This lecture provides an update on local finance through three decades of reform including those implemented since 2013, when a comprehensive package was announced, with promise of a realignment of central-local revenues and expenditures by 2020. The findings are that local fiscal status has deteriorated since 2015 due to a combination of slowing growth, tax cuts, and reform pressures. This has already led to a decline in social spending as a share of GDP, threatening to reverse some recent gains in improving public services and undermining other policy goals. This event is part of the 2021-2022 lecture series on “COVID-19 Impacts and Responses in China and Beyond” and is co-sponsored by the China Center for Social Policy and the APEC Study Center at Columbia University
Topic:
Reform, Finance, Fiscal Policy, Xi Jinping, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1117. Mediums and Magical Things: Statues, Paintings, and Masks in Asian Places

Author:
Laurel Kendall, Lesley Sharp, Max Moerman, and Myron L. Cohen
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
Paintings, statues, and masks—like the bodies of shamans and spirit mediums—give material form and presence to otherwise invisible entities and sometimes they are understood to be enlivened, agentive on their own terms. This book explores how magical images are expected to work with the shamans and spirit mediums who tend and use them in contemporary South Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Bali, Indonesia. It considers how such things are fabricated, marketed, cared for, disposed of, and sometimes transformed into art market commodities and museum artifacts. The two discussants approach this discussion of animated images from two different but intersecting directions. Max Moerman is a scholar of Japanese religion whose work focuses on visual and material representation. Lesley Sharp is a medical anthropologist with an interest in material culture whose recent work has focused on organ transplants and related questions of “life” and “death.” As moderator, Myron Cohen brings a broad knowledge of East Asian popular religion. The event is organized by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and cosponsored by the New York Southeast Asia Network.
Topic:
Religion, Arts, Culture, Spirituality, Museums, Magic, and Mediums
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Asia, South Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Bali

1118. Japan's 2021 Elections: What Happened, What's Next?

Author:
Yusaku Horiuchi, Yesola Kweon, Charles McClean, and Daniel Smith
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
This event will take the form of a one-hour roundtable (~10 minutes for each speaker plus Q&A) of experts’ views on the main takeaways from the 2021 Japanese general election, which was held on October 31st, 2021. This roundtable of experts will explain the results of the election, and what they might signify for Japan’s domestic and foreign policy going forward. This event is cosponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the APEC Study Center.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Politics, Elections, and Domestic Policy
Political Geography:
Japan and Asia

1119. Family Caregivers in the Post-COVID Labor Market in China

Author:
Haijing Dai and Qin Gao
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
The COVID pandemic has brought family caregivers in China new challenges to balance work and family needs. While sudden quarantine requirements and unexpected suspensions of schools and care institutions demand more flexibility from work, the economic slowdown reduces job opportunities and increases competition in the employment market. Based on a recent respondent-driven survey and 11 in-depth interviews of company directors and HR managers in Guangdong Province, the study explores how representatives of employers, some of whom are family caregivers, view and understand the dilemmas of family caregivers under such circumstances, and how they treat family caregivers in job recruitment, performance evaluation, and promotion decisions. Preliminary data analysis uncovers unfriendly attitudes of employers towards family caregivers, especially mothers of young children and men taking care of aging parents, as well as prevalent discourses of gender norms, individual choice, and personal responsibility. Implications of the findings for social inequality in China and policymaking will also be discussed. This event is part of the 2021-2022 lecture series on “COVID-19 Impacts and Responses in China and Beyond” and is co-sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the China Center for Social Policy.
Topic:
Family, Domestic Policy, COVID-19, Labor Market, and Caregivers
Political Geography:
China and Asia

1120. The Ideal of a Tree: Ju Kelzang on his Life as a Poet

Author:
Ju Kelzang, Pema Bhum, Kristina Dy-Liacco, Palden Gyal, and Eveline Washul
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
Tibetan poet Ju Kelzang (a.k.a. Ju Kelsang or 'Ju Skal-bzang or འཇུ་སྐལ་བཟང་། ) from Amdo or the Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China, reads two of his poems and reflects on his writing practices and philosophy. He also discusses his views on the role of tradition in contemporary Tibetan literature. In Amdo Tibetan dialect, WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
Topic:
Arts, Culture, Literature, and Poetry
Political Geography:
Asia and Tibet