China and East Asia

September 2012
China’s 18th Party Congress: What’s at Stake?
by Joseph Fewsmith
“Will the instinct to reinforce the rules of elite politics . . . undermine the leadership’s ability to respond to the issues that Bo Xilai and the New Left aired?”

September 2012
The China Threat and the “Pivot” to Asia
by Hugh De Santis
“America’s expanding military footprint in Asia may be more of a provocation than a deterrent to China’s aggressive behavior.”

September 2012
The Kims’ Three Bodies: Communism and Dynastic Succession in North Korea
by Bruce Cumings
“The North’s philosophy of rule bears close resemblance to what Koreans traditionally said about their kings—or what Hegel said about the German monarch. . . .”

September 2012
The Election That Could Reorder South Korea’s Politics
by Gi-Wook Shin
“Electing a new Korean president . . . will have far-reaching political and policy ramifications, both domestic and foreign, perhaps greater than ever in recent history.”

September 2012
China’s Post-Socialist Inequality
by Martin King Whyte
“The country’s sharp increase in income inequality is not the result of the rich getting richer while the poor become poorer.”

September 2012
Pluralism, Performance, and Personalities: Political Change in Southeast Asia
by Catharin Dalpino
An old debate that pits democratic values against Asian traditions of strongman rule and preferences for economic progress over political reform still resonates in the region.

September 2012
Perspective: Can Trade Talks Drive Reform in Japan?
by Aurelia George Mulgan
The Trans-Pacific Partnership promises to open markets and encourage structural reforms, but powerful domestic interests oppose Japan’s involvement.

September 2012
Books: The Last Gulags
by William W. Finan Jr.
A new book about a fugitive from North Korea casts chilling light on the world’s last remaining national system of concentration camps.

September 2012
Four Months in Review
by the editors of Current History
An international chronology of events from April 2012 through July 2012, country by country, day by day.

September 2012
Map of China and East Asia
by the editors of Current History
Map

September 2011
No “Jasmine” for China
by Bruce J. Dickson
“Political protests in China are a far cry from those that created the Arab Spring.”

September 2011
Japan’s Post-Catastrophe Politics
by Steven Vogel
“Japan’s political leaders have failed to deliver decisive action precisely when the country needed it most—when it faced its most devastating crisis since World War II.”

September 2011
Does Economic Integration Augur Peace in East Asia?
by Scott L. Kastner
“At the end of the day, it is not clear that economic ties will act as a significant constraint on state behavior when high-stakes issues are on the table.”

September 2011
The Korean Peninsula on the Verge
by Charles K. Armstrong
“It has become apparent that a policy of isolation, sanctions, lack of dialogue, and ‘strategic patience’ has not worked to weaken North Korea or alter its behavior, much less bring the regime down.”

September 2011
Deep Danger: Competing Claims in the South China Sea
by Marvin C. Ott
“The South China Sea is a growing focus of concern in Washington, at the headquarters of the US Pacific Command in Honolulu, and in a number of Southeast Asian capitals.”

September 2011
Myanmar: The Next Failed State?
by Joshua Kurlantzick
“China, other Asian nations, and the United States remain unprepared for Myanmar to spark a refugee crisis, a large-scale conflict along its borders—or even a nuclear breakout.”

September 2011
Perspective: Indonesia’s Image and Reality
by Donald E. Weatherbee
The world’s largest Muslim democracy is an international success story, but domestic corruption and resistance from fellow ASEAN member-states hinder Jakarta’s ambitions.

September 2011
Book: China According to Henry
by William W. Finan Jr.
Henry Kissinger in his latest book parts company with international-relations realists who believe China’s rise will necessarily entail conflict with the United States.

September 2011
The Month in Review
by the editors of Current History
An international chronology of events from April through July 2011, country by country, day by day.

September 2011
Map of China and East Asia
by the editors of Current History
Map