2/11/2022 | Southeast Asia and the Future of the Rules-based (Liberal) Order

January 20, 2022February 11, 2022Archives & RecordingsLeave a Comment

Friday, February 11, 2022

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EST

WebEx Event

Of late, the notion of a rules-based order (RBO) has been used in many foreign policy speeches, both among American policy makers and those in Southeast Asia. Linked to this notion of a rules-based order is the view that a liberal international order (LIO) best secures the interests of countries around the world, and one that is related to America’s normative preference of how the world should be ordered. However, the growing prominence of so-called illiberal states like China and Russia in recent years have challenged the future of a liberal international order. Drawing from the fieldwork interviews conducted over the past two months, this talk will examine various iterations of the concepts of RBO/LIO among American scholars/thinkers and how they reflect American views towards Southeast Asia and the extent to which countries in the region support America’s vision of the world.

Speaker

Benjamin Ho is Assistant Professor at the China Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore. He obtained his PhD from the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. His research focus includes the study of China’s international relations, with an emphasis on Chinese political worldview and exceptionalism thinking. Other research interests include security multilateralism in the Asia Pacific region with a focus on regional institutions and fora, national security (intelligence), the sociology of religion and public theology (Christianity). His research articles have been published in the America Journal of Chinese Studies, China Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary China, East Asia: An International Quarterly, Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, Asia Policy, Australian Journal of International Affairs and the Yale Journal of International Affairs. Since joining RSIS, Benjamin has been involved in a number of think-tank events and conferences including the Track II Network of ASEAN Defence and Security Institutions (NADI), the Pacific Young Leaders programme and CSCAP meetings.

Moderator

portrait of David Shambaugh in professional attire

David Shambaugh (he/him) joined the faculty at GW in 1996 as Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and Professor of Political Science & International Affairs. In 2017 he was appointed to an endowed chair as Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & international Affairs.

In 1998, he founded the China Policy Program. The China Policy Program was created to build upon the Elliott School’s longstanding expertise and involvement in U.S.-China relations and contemporary Chinese affairs and to serve primarily as an outreach program to the policy community in Washington, officials and China specialists around the world, the media, and the public. Highlights of CPP’s programming include sponsoring tailored briefings for Executive Branch officials, Congressional staff, and Members of Congress related to China and U.S.-China relations or for members of the corporate community on China; receiving and briefing visiting delegations from Asia, Europe, and the United States on issues related to China; and sponsoring media briefings, pegged to current and medium-term events in China and U.S.-China relations.

Professor Shambaugh has been selected for numerous awards and grants, including as a Senior Fulbright Scholar (at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Distinguished Research Professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, and other visiting appointments in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Russia. He has received research grants from the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Smith Richardson Foundation, Hinrich Foundation, German Marshall Fund, British Academy, and U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

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10/27/2021 | Sigur Summer Research Fellows Roundtable

October 11, 2021November 1, 2021Archives & RecordingsLeave a Comment

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

Zoom Event

Recording

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies welcomes you to a virtual roundtable discussion with our Summer Research Fellows! Join us to hear our about their research experience and findings followed by an audience Q&A.

Awardees

Field Research:

*Zhongtian Han (Ph.D. History), China
*Abhilasha Sahay (Ph.D. Economics), India
Srishti Sood (Ph.D. Anthropology), India

Language:

Lyn Doan (MA Chinese Language and Culture), Taiwan
Matt Geason (MA Asian Studies), Taiwan
Sylvia Ngo (Ph.D. Anthropology), Taiwan

Summer 2021 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellows:

Natalie Horton (BA Asian Studies), South Korea
Bianca Trifoi (Ph.D. History), Domestic Program

banner for politics of warring states Japan event with old Japanese war painting in the background; text: The Politics of Warring States Japan 1467-1600 with Nick Anderson

03/03/2021: The Politics of Warring-States Japan (1467-1600) with Nick Anderson

February 8, 2021June 22, 2021Archives & Recordings, Sigur Center Lecture SeriesLeave a Comment

Sigur Center Lecture Series for Asian Studies with Images of past speakers

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

10:00 AM – 11:15 AM EST

WebEx Event

Graphic of: The Politics of Warring States Japan, 1467-1600 with Nick Anderson

Recording

This presentation introduces ‘The Politics of Warring-States Japan, 1467-1600,’ a new collection of data covering political and military relations between warlords in Japan during its warring-states period, from 1467-1600. The data covers a wide variety of political phenomena from the period, including battles and wars, territorial conquest, and alliance formation, among others. The presentation will introduce the data, present descriptive statistics of key variables of interest, and reflect on how the data speak to broader theories of international relations and conflict. The presentation should be of interest to scholars of Japanese history, Early Modern East Asia, civil conflict, and international relations theory, among others. Nicholas Anderson is a Visiting Scholar with the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, and a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at Yale University. Mike Mochizuki, Japan-US Relations Chair in Memory of Gaston Sigur at the George Washington University, will serve as moderator for the audience Q&A.

Gray map with text overlay "Pandemic Politics in Southeast Asia"

07/09/2020: Pandemic Politics in Southeast Asia

June 30, 2020May 19, 2021Archives & RecordingsLeave a Comment

Thursday, July 9, 2020

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EDT

via WebEx

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies, East Asia National Resource Center, and the Elliott School of International Affairs’ Research Department will host Sigur non-resident scholar, Julia Lau, as she analyzes the present situation in each of these Southeast Asian nation-states and discusses how this crisis might lead to political change in the region in the coming years.

The global pandemic and governments’ ensuing public health and other policy responses have shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of pre-existing leadership, socio-economic infrastructure, and public policy within all regions. In Southeast Asia, the media spotlight has variously shone on how Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia’s current governments have dealt with the health, economic, political, and social fallout of COVID-19’s unrelenting spread. Each country has taken a slightly different approach to the crisis, with uneven results. In some cases, unforeseen repercussions spreading far beyond the public health domain are now causing citizens to question their leadership or demonstrate their opposition to certain policy decisions in interesting or unprecedented ways.

Advance registration required. This event is part of the East Asia NRC’s Current Issues in East Asia series.

Graphic: Flag of Myanmar, Text: The Sigur Center Presents: US and Chinese Perspectives on Current Issues in Myanmar with Fulbright Scholar Xianghui Zhu and Professor Christina Fink

3/3/2020: US and Chinese Perspectives on Current Issues in Myanmar with Fulbright Scholar Xianghui Zhu and Professor Christina Fink

March 17, 2020June 22, 2021Archives & Recordings, Visiting Scholar RoundtablesLeave a Comment

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

12:30 PM – 1:45 PM

Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, Suite 503W

Elliott School of International Affairs

1957 E Street NW, Washington, DC

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies cordially invites you to a discussion with Fulbright scholar and Sigur Center Visiting Scholar, Xianghui Zhu, and Professor Christina Fink on where Myanmar is headed in the midst of an election year with many critical issues on the table. These include constitutional amendments to reduce the power of the military, international pressure to address abuses committed against the Rohingya, and a stalled peace process. At the same time, major planned Chinese investments may reshape the economy.

This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Professor Christina Fink joined the Elliott School in 2011. She is a cultural anthropologist who has combined teaching, research, and development work throughout her career. She received her B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social/Cultural Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. She served as a visiting lecturer at the Pacific and Asian Studies Department at the University of Victoria in 1995, and from 2001-2010, she was a lecturer and program associate at the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute in Thailand. During the same period, she also ran a bi-annual capacity building training and internship program, which she developed for members of Burmese civil society organizations, including women’s groups. In addition, she has worked as a coordinator for the Open Society Institute’s Burma Project, a trainer and project consultant for an Internews oral history project, and a program evaluation consultant for the Canadian International Development Agency, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation.

Dr. Xianghui Zhu is a Fulbright scholar with the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University. He is also Associate Professor with the Institute of Myanmar Studies, Yunnan University, China. He was educated at Peking University in China with a Ph.D. in Burmese language and literature. Before embarking on his academic career, he worked for China-Myanmar Oil and Gas Pipelines Company and was in the Public Affairs Section of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar.

Graphic: The flags of China and the United States placed next to each other, Text: The Sino-American Rapprochement: An Analysis of Four Perspectives with Fulbright Scholar Dr. Qianyu Li

2/28/2020: The Sino-American Rapprochement: An Analysis of Four Perspectives with Fulbright Scholar Dr. Qianyu Li

March 17, 2020June 22, 2021Archives & Recordings, Visiting Scholar RoundtablesLeave a Comment

Friday, February 28, 2020</strong style>

11:00 AM – 12:30 AM

Chung-win Shih Conference Room, Suite 503W

Elliott School of International Affairs

1957 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies cordially invites you to a discussion with Fulbright scholar and Sigur Center Visiting Scholar, Dr. Qianyu Li, on his research about US-China relations.

Dr. Qianyu Li will deliver a lecture that comprehensively introduces the decisive factors that shape the process of Sino-American rapprochement in the 1970s. Since 1969, China and the US have reduced tensions through joint efforts, such as President Nixon’s historic visit to China and the issuance of the Shanghai Joint Communiqué. The Sino-American rapprochement also substantially changed the whole situation of China’s foreign affairs and the balance among great powers. Most developed countries and international organizations established formal, diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China; ideological influence had a decreasing role in the decision-making of China’s foreign policies. The rapprochement happened in a special historical era of the Cultural Revolution. It seems that the possibilities of all these factors were the least possible in that period of time.

The Sino-American relations stagnated after 1972 until diplomatic relations were formally established between the two countries in 1979. The rapprochement and stagnation are cause for Dr. Li’s research. In his lecture, he will analyze China’s diversified motivations for the dramatic changes and its causes for the stagnation from 4 perspectives:
1. China’s national security situation and strategic adjustment
2. Domestic politics
3. Two-level game theory
4. Mao’s personalities

This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Dr. Qianyu Li is an Associate Professor working in the Department of Diplomacy at China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), and an accomplished scholar on Cold War history. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Law from CFAU, and obtained his Ph.D. from Peking University. Dr. Li has published one book, “From Bandung to Algiers: China and Six Afro-Asian International Conferences (1955-1965),” and twenty articles in academic journals, and contributed chapters to several books talking about China’s diplomacy.

poster for Geo-Strategic Impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative event

10/31/2019: Geo-Strategic Impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative with Fulbright Scholar Aqab Malik

October 17, 2019June 22, 2021Archives & Recordings, Visiting Scholar Roundtables1 Comment

Thursday, October 31, 2019

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, Suite 503

Elliott School of International Affairs

1957 E Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20052

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies cordially invites you to a discussion on the Belt Road Initiative with our Visiting Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Aqab Malik. The discussion and Q&A will be moderated by Associate Director Dr. Deepa Ollapally.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a colossal undertaking, which was primarily organized and initiated to lessen the impact of China’s economic downturn and mitigate its surplus production capacity and provide alternative markets for its mass manufactured products. In doing so, the initiative also recognizes that the prospective markets in Asia require extensive infrastructural upgrades to facilitate the necessary connectivity for the initiative’s vision to be a success. However, as China’s interests have grown and its investments have solidified in Eurasia and Africa, its recognition of the necessity for the protection of its interests have also grown commensurate to the investments it is making. This has led to concerns in the Western hemisphere that China’s goals through BRI are not wholly economic in nature, but also have geopolitical and geo-strategic dimensions.

This talk will explore the possibility of the geo-strategic impacts in the medium to long-term future in relation to the changing political and economic world order.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Aqab Malik is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the Sigur Center, Elliott School of International Affairs, where he is writing a book on the Geostrategic Impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative. Dr. Malik has had extensive teaching and research experience in Strategic Studies. He received his doctorate in Strategic and Nuclear Studies at the Department of Strategic Studies, National Defence University, Islamabad. He also has an MA in Security Studies from the University of Hull (UK), and graduated with a BSc in Marine Geography from Cardiff University (UK).

Previously, and in addition to his regular teaching, Dr. Malik has been actively engaged as a consultant for organizations as diverse as the National Counter Terrorism Authority, Ministry of Interior, Pakistan, in the Formulation and Writing of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy and Threat Assessment, and Position Paper, for Pakistan. Furthermore, he has worked as a Consultant to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

Dr. Malik has visited the US regularly, and prior to his recent position, was the 2013 South Asia Fellow at the School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Malik regularly speaks at and attends international conferences, and also frequently appears on TV, globally through channels, such as Sky TV, i24, VOA, Al Arabiya, Abu Dhabi TV, Al Ain TV, Saudi TV, Libyan TV, News1, Khyber TV, amongst others.

Dr. Deepa Ollapally is Research Professor of International Affairs, Associate Director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, and Director of the Rising Powers Initiative. Dr. Ollapally specializes in regional security of South Asia, Indian foreign policy, and the role of identity in international relations. Her current research focuses on martiime security in the Indian Ocean and the impact of regional power shifts and the intersection of security and identity in India-China relations. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

Dr. Ollapally has received major grants from foundations including the Carnegie Corporation, MacArthur Foundation, and Ford Foundation. She is a frequent commentator in the media, including appearances on CNN, BBC, CBS, Reuters TV, and the Diane Rehm Show.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

poster with books in the background; text: critical pedagogy in international relations: the missing leg from the global south

7/10/2019 Critical Pedagogy in International Relations

July 1, 2019June 22, 2021Archives & Recordings, Visiting Scholar RoundtablesLeave a Comment

Wednesday, July 10th, 2019

12:30 PM – 1:45 PM

Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, Suite 503

Elliott School of International Affairs

1957 E Street, NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20052

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies would like to cordially invite you to a discussion with Fulbright Visiting Scholar Navnita Behera on why critical pedagogues in International Relations have thus far resulted in limited outcomes.

This seminar grapples with the need to foreground the diversity of local contexts when developing critical pedagogies in international relations. The foundational bases of Euro-centrism have persisted in this realm, despite the growing sway of critical theories in IR. Professor Behera will draw upon teaching experiences of faculty in different parts of the world especially—though not exclusively—in the Global South, to show the disjuncture between the Euro-centric textbook knowledge and diverse ground life realities of the students. The idea is to explore the role of classroom teaching practices in this context.

Can we make our classrooms into a site of knowledge creation instead of merely as knowledge reproduction?

Guest Speaker:
Navnita Chadha Behera is a Visiting Fulbright Fellow at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University and a Professor of International Relations at the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. She is also Vice President of the International Studies Association (2019-2020) and an Honorary Director of Institute for Research on India and International Studies. Earlier, she has been a Visiting Fellow at University of Warsaw (2015), University of Uppsala (2012), University of Bologna and the Central European University (2010), and the Brookings Institution (2001-2002).

Professor Behera has published widely in India and abroad. Her book on Demystifying Kashmir (Brookings Press, 2006) topped the non-fiction charts in India. Her other books include India Engages the World (Editor, Oxford University Press: 2013), International Relations in South Asia: Search for an Alternative Paradigm (Editor, Sage: 2008), Gender, Conflict and Migration (Editor, Sage: 2006) and State, Identity and Violence: Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh (Manohar, 2002). Her research interests include International Relations Theory, Knowledge Systems and the Global South, and International Politics of South Asia especially issues of War, Conflict & Political Violence, Gender Studies, and the Kashmir Conflict.

This event is free and open to the media.

event tile with American and Japanese flags in the background; text: Japan's Defense Buildup in 1980s: Back to the Balance of Power Politics?

4/8/2019: Japan’s defense buildup in 1980s: Back to the Balance of Power Politics?

April 2, 2019July 6, 2021Archives & Recordings, Visiting Scholar RoundtablesLeave a Comment

Part of the East Asia NRC’s Current Issues in East Asia Series.

Monday, April 8, 2019
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM

Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, Suite 503
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20052

About the Event:

In the New Cold War era of the 1980s, Japan expanded its defense buildup. Japan began the common studies regarding the protection of 1000 miles Sea lane of communication with the United States. Moreover, SDF acquired the Aegis Combat System, the next generation support fighter (F-2) and increased the number of P-3C and F-15. Additionally, Nakasone administration abolished the 1% of GNP ceiling for defense budget.

Do those changes in Japan’s security policy imply a return to the balance of power politics? Could Soviet threat and pressure from United States explain Japan’s policy in 1980s? Are there any other more important factors? Mr. Wang will explain those questions in the seminar.

photo of wang rui in professional attire

Mr. Wang Rui is a PhD student in Keio University, Japan. He is currently a visiting scholar in The Sigur Center for Asian Studies.

Mike Mochizuki, pictured in professional attire

Mike M. Mochizuki – Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, Specialist in Japanese politics

flyer with comparison image of wartime Japan and current day Japan; text: Study War No More?: Commemorating WWII in Singapore and the Learning and Teaching of War Memory

4/12/19: Study War No More? Commemorating WWII in Singapore & The Learning and Teaching of War Memory

March 28, 2019July 6, 2021Archives & Recordings, Visiting Scholar RoundtablesLeave a Comment

Friday, April 12, 2019
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Elliott School of International Affairs
Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, Suite 503
1957 E Street, NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20052

flyer for study war no more event

The Sigur Center cordially invites you to a lecture on how Singaporeans study and perceive the acts of World War II.

About the Event:

This lecture will feature updates by Professor Lau on contemporary WWII commemorative ceremonies and practices in Singapore, taking observations from her recent visit home and attendance at three commemorative events in mid-February 2019, which marked the 77th anniversary of the Japanese imperial army’s invasion (February 15, 1942) and the subsequent Occupation of the island state until the war’s end in August 1945. One of the events was an official ceremony at Fort Canning, while the other two were a heritage walk following the route where Singapore’s Malay Regiment and others fought the Battle of Pasir Panjang along Kent Ridge, and a talk by some Aboriginal Australian descendants of Australian POWs whom the Japanese had captured and imprisoned in Singapore during the Occupation.

From the diverse and at times conflicting or dissonant messages conveyed (when taken altogether) to the audience or consumers of these different events, one initial question that begs urgent answers is, How do today’s Singaporeans and others affected by these momentous historical events make sense of this patchwork of different memories? Another fruitful question is whether and how reconciliation or healing can finally take place, for those with direct or received war memory and experience, even two generations or more after war’s end.

As part of her engagement with and long held interest in teaching and learning pedagogy for political science students, Professor Lau will also introduce at her talk a former student of hers, graduating senior Mr. Jacob V. Schofell, to present his research on the Cambodian genocide, and to discuss how war memory has become one of his research interests during his undergraduate career.

Julia M. Lau posing for a picture on a sunny day by a waterfront

Julia M. Lau – Non-Resident Scholar, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

A native of Singapore, Julia has taught international relations and law, comparative politics and research methods courses as a lecturer at Georgetown University and The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., and at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Her current research interests include war memory in Southeast Asia and China. She is also a member of the American Political Science Association’s status committee on Contingent Faculty, advocating for better working conditions and understanding of contingent and adjunct faculty in the profession.

Jacob V. Schofell

Jake is an undergraduate graduating in Political Science and Arabic at McDaniel College in May 2019. He plans to pursue a graduate degree in Global Policy studies. His research interests include the current conflict in Yemen, genocide memory, and Gulf relations. For this event, he will discuss his research on a paper entitled “A Generation Removed: Differences in Survivors’ and their Children’s Remembrance of the Cambodian Genocide”.