September 2013
Can Xi’s Governing Strategy Succeed?
by Cheng Li and Ryan McElveen
“[W]ithout gradual but bold reform of the legal system, media openness, and a more accountable and representative political structure, the next phase of economic reform will not go far.”
Abenomics After Japan’s Upper House Election
by Kay Shimizu
“Although July’s electoral victory was a necessary condition for pushing Abe’s economic program forward, a closer look at the election results and the prime minister’s current political positioning reveals a number of challenges ahead.”
Soft Power’s Rise and Fall in East Asia
by Jing Sun
“Although China’s assertiveness has been a major factor in the latest hardening of relations in East Asia, Beijing’s retreat from soft power has not necessarily benefited those who are viewing the rise of China most anxiously.”
The Evolving Tactics of China’s Green Movement
by Judith Shapiro
“The activists’ strategies . . . reflect both the importance of new social media and the shifting constraints under which civil society must operate in an authoritarian state.”
Yudhoyono’s Legacy: Between Politics and Principle
by Paige Johnson Tan
“[W]hen he departs the presidency in 2014, Yudhoyono will leave an Indonesia in which politics, while messy, is increasingly played according to the rules. . . .”
Trauma and Triumphalism in Malaysia
by Bridget Welsh
“[T]he incumbent forces have reformulated old strategies to deflect contenders for power while narrowing the political space for substantive reform.”
Perspective: Can the Korean Princelings Make Progress?
by Charles Armstrong
North and South Korea’s leaders are both scions of ruling families with a history of mutual hostility. Still, there is cause to hope that the South’s Park Geun-hye will try what is long overdue: clear-headed, sustained engagement with the North.
Books: China’s Shame and Rejuvenation
by William W. Finan, Jr.
The authors of a new history of modern China argue that nationalism, not communism, has propelled the country’s political evolution and its rise as an international power.
Four Months in Review: April-July 2013
by the editors of Current History
An international chronology of events, country by country, day by day, from April through July 2013.
Map of China and East Asia
by the editors of Current History
Map
