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During the last ten years or so since 1992 Rio Earth Summit,there has been a virtual explosion of regional activity for environmental protection in Northeast Asia (NEA). Environmental cooperation has been institutionalized at both bilateral and multilateral levels and various projects to curb regional environmental problems have been adopted and implemented. The environment became reformulated as a regional political issue. Environmental cooperation in NEA shows an interesting characteristic in progress. Countries have developed formal cooperation at bilateral level by concluding either environmental treaties or agreements and setting up joint committees for implementing cooperation. Although less formal then bilateral cooperation, cooperation at the multilateral level also has shown a steady progress. Norms for collective action were firmly established and institutional arrangements were agreed. However, overall, environmental cooperation in NEA has been progressing into non-binding cooperation without clauses clearly describing official commitments for compliance and legal restrictions for non-compliance at either bilateral or multilateral cooperation. Adopting conventions or protocols has been avoided or rejected in negotiations. Why environmental cooperation in NEA is non-binding? This paper is an attempt to answer the question by exploring the progress of environmental negotiation in the region. Considering that environmental cooperation is a foreign policy issue of countries, the non-binding cooperation in NEA are policy choices of countries. By exploring political, economic, and environmental interests behind positions of countries in environmental negotiation, the paper concludes that the non-binding commitment for environmental cooperation could be a rational policy choice of countries in the region. In exploring countries’ interests in environmental politics in NEA, archival research, document analysis, and particularly, extensive elite interviews were applied to collect qualitative data. Elite interviewing was in particular an excellent form of data collection for this paper since the behavior of interests can be best described and explained by those who are deeply involved in policy-making processes. In this research, the validity of interviewees’ statements was determined by examining their plausibility, checking for internal consistency, referring to documents and reports from the government, research institutes, and environmental NGOs, and corroborating with other interviewees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper substitutes variables for countries in analyzing attitudes toward democracy in six Asian nations: Korea, China (Mainland), Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, and Thailand. The working hypothesis of the paper is that national differences in attitudes and opinions reflect underlying socioeconomic variations across nations, rather than inherent cultures within the nations. According to this hypothesis, urban-rural configurations of the populations should dominate opinion orientations, rather than idiosyncratic characteristics of these nations. The fundamental rural-urban cleavage will explain attitudes toward traditionalism-modernism which, correspondingly, will contribute to an explanation of attitudes toward democracy. The data for the study come from probability samples across the selected nations in a multi-nayion study using the same questionnaire in 2001. The analysis shows that rural-urban cleavages, seldom used in cross-national comparisons, are significant explanatory factors within nations. This study examines whether these within-nation associations are also significant for explaining attitudes and opinions in a cross-national analysis. The essential issue is: Is within-nation variance greater than variance among nations on the issues of interest? The inclusion of both developed and developing Asian nations permits examination of whether levels of development contribute to national profiles of public attitudes toward elements of democracy such as preference for democracy over authoritarian forms of government, satisfaction with democracy, desire for democracy, and other indicators of democratic support and consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power Transition Theory postulates that peaceful transitions in the international order are a function of degrees of satisfaction. This paper assesses the likelihood of US-Sino conflict through an assessment of China’s satisfaction with the current international order. It explores first the political-military order, particularly the global balance of power, American military bases and influence in Asia, and China’s diplomatic position in Asia and the world. It also explores China’s satisfaction with the current economic order. While China has done extremely well under this system, experiencing rapid economic growth over close to three decades, its position in the latest Doha Round of trade talks brings its satisfaction into question. In addition to assessing convergence on security and economic satisfaction, this paper traces the rudiments of cultural satisfaction, assessing the degree that China and the US may share common cultural expectations of the coming world order. Exploring all these questions will provide insight on whether China will wish to dramatically change the world order in ways that are inimical to US interests. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine the economic relations between Mexico and Asia as a mean towards economic diversification. It looks at the countless possibilities that the region offers for Mexico to achieve its long awaited economic diversity. This paper examines issues of its relations with the two major economies of the region, China and Japan, looking at the challenges and opportunities that both countries pose. This paper tries to identify the reasons why Mexico needs and will continue to pursue relations with Asian countries as well as identify some of the transformations necessary to deal with an area as complex as Asia. It argues that if Mexico is willing to work with these economies and is willing to solve some serious domestic issues, it will in the end achieve its goal of reducing its dependence on the United States economy and will eventually achieve major economic gains from the Asian economies. This paper finds that Mexico is facing many challenges, domestic and foreign, that are impeding progress in its quest for economic diversification. Such findings need to be addressed in order to reduce its dependence on the United States economy and achieve greater cooperation with the Asian markets. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the political and sociological significance of the unprecedented expansion of Christianity in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the formation of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) framework by focusing on the rise of new regionalist ideas and policy networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of this paper is to explore the regional dynamics of IGO participation and constuction in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contrasts the factors that shape soft line US security strategy in Northeast Asia with its hard line strategy in the Persian Gulf. There are structural constraints that moderate the US policy toward North Korea. These are: US-Japanese alliances, US-South Korea economic relationship, and rising China. The US policy towards Iraq, on the other hand, is hardened by the US concern to guarantee the continuous flow of oil and by its relationship with Israel. Consequently, the US has adopted appeasement and engagement policies in northeast Asia while containment, regime change, and war resolution in the Persian Gulf. The US policy in these two regions has generated a number of challenges that neither the US nor the international community is sure yet how to address them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper articulates two divergent models of encountering the other drawn from Mark Twain's travel writing. The first, found in Twain's writing on Europe and Asia, is the model of the tourist. Twain's tourists maintain a concrete outsidedness, exemplified in their naming each of their guides the familiar "Ferguson," as they are unwilling to acknowledge their individual names. The second, found in Twain's writing on America, is the model of a traveler interested in and capable of engaging with others on their own terms. The traveler -- unlike the tourist -- encounters others through a lens shaped by his or her new experiences away from home. These two competing models illustrate the tensions inherent in encountering others. Understanding such tensions -- I argue -- helps illuminate the psychology and practices necessary for democratic citizens to meaningfully understand and engage with members of cultures different from their own. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper can be included in the conference program: Asian Politics and International Relations between Korea-US. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief paper tries to answer the question of how the understanding of new security conditions is affecting the (re)creation of regional identity in Asia, and is an Asian Security Community possible. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can leaders help to inaugurate democratic reforms while not subverting democratic values in the process? This paper will discuss the role of democratic leadership in democratic transitions, especially in Asia. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigration policy in Asia has been mainly shaped by bureaucratic "puzzle-solving" and NGO?s humanitarian intervention unlike Eorpean states where interest group lobby and partisan politics has mattered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research will study the relationship between democracy (or democratization) and a country's environmental outcomes in Asia, including carbon dioxide damage and energy depletion etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

U.S. foreign policy to Asia will not independently focus on the Korean Peninsula in a heavily highlighted taskforce, which has, as a matter of fact, used to be a part of the branches in Asia policy. Comparing to Japan, China, and Russia, the Korean Peninsula is not likely to outstrip any policy to those countries. Nonetheless, in the name of Korea-U.S. FTA, economic issue and foreign policy in denuclearization of North Korea have stuck U.S. Asia strategy. The U.S. has to cope with such geopolitical as well as geo-economic environment of the Korean Peninsula which is able to manipulate the power structure and security of Northeast Asia. The Korean Peninsula can venture out on overall U.S. foreign policy to establish its new standard in Asia. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the principal factors behind the sudden interest in bilateral FTAs in Asia? We focus on general welfare considerations and the salience of domestic political constraints as important factors affecting the formation of bilateral FTAs. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project attempts to offer a modest contribution to James S. Fishkin's remarkable work on improving democratic participation via deliberative polling. Deliberative polling supposes that if a representative portion of society deliberated face-to-face on a number of issues, had balanced briefing materials, and had direct access to competing experts, then a subsequent survey of that sample would produce the considered judgment of the public. Fishkin tested this assumption by comparing responses from traditional surveys with responses from deliberative polling. Choice questionnaire has components similar to deliberative polling. It differs from conventional surveys by providing respondents with written information about the issues as well as a briefing on the potential consequences of listed options. Focus groups feature other important components found in deliberative polling. They allow face-to-face discussion on the issues, allowing valuable exposure to competing positions. Taken together Choice Questionnaire and focus groups nearly resemble the core of deliberative polling. Our objective is to combine a Choice Questionnaire experiment and a follow-up focus group session as an economical surrogate of some of deliberative polling's core components. We wish to ascertain whether we can detect significant response differences regarding Taiwanese identity and sovereignty issues when comparing ordinary survey responses with the surrogate deliberative polling method. There is cautious optimism that information is forthcoming suggesting that full-fledged deliberative polling can be as successful in Asian societies as well as in the West. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to answer how national interests get defined, I will examine regional cooperation of Northeast Asia in the three issue areas: the North Korean nuclear crisis, the Tumen River Development Program, and the transnational air pollution problem. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between globalization and welfare state in Asia through an examination of seven Asian countries during the period of 1980-1999. This paper tests arguments of Avelino, Brown, and Hunter (2002) and Kaufman and Segura (2001) in an Asian context that globalization is a complicated process and that trade openness (negative)and financial openness (positive) have a different effect on social spending. This paper finds out that unlike findings of the above-two works based on Latin America, both trade openness and financial openness have a strong positive impact on an increase in social spending in Asia and that globalization has a different regional impact. In addition, this paper shows that unlike the allegation of existing studies on welfare state in OECD countries, the importance of partisanship increased in explaining expansion of welfare state (measured in ratio of social spending to GDP) in Asia and that left-wing or populist governments were more pro-welfare. Moreover, this paper finds out that union strength had a positive impact on an increase in social spending in Asia and that the effect of union strength on the expansion of welfare state has increased. This paper also shows that democracy contributed to an increase in social spending in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of PTAs/FTAs in liberalizing trade in Asia-Pacific countries. Rather than treating PTAs as homogeneous, the paper differentiates them by the level of credibility encapsulated in their provisions. We focus on the depth of the agreement, in particular its scope and degree of legalization; the the tariff concessions that are concluded through the agreement; and flexibility mechanisms, including escape clauses and provisions for delegation to third parties for dispute resolution. We provide two forms of evidence. The first is a snapshot of tariff barriers in a select group of Asian multilateral PTAs to show that there is a large difference in tariff reductions within PTAs, so that treating them all as equivalent is not the best strategy. Second, we examine dyadic models of trade between Asian countries and the rest of the world to to identify the institutional features of PTAs most strongly associated with a significant boost in trade among the participants. The paper’s findings have important implications for the "dynamic time path" question of whether PTAs are building blocks or stumbling blocks to trade liberalization. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From recent political economy studies, it is reasonable to predict that democracies do a better job than nondemocracies of protecting the welfare of their own people in the era of globalization..x000d.Is this the case in Asia? Are Asian democracies, facing global market competition, working as other Western European democracies in the area of social welfare policies? This paper starts from skepticism about Asian democracies. There are good reasons to suspect the progress and prospects of democracies in Asia. First, the quality of democracies is relatively low. It is likely that, political institutions of Asian democracies are not effective enough as those of Western European democracies to obstruct the influence of privileged groups. Second, Asian democracies are ‘blue.’ Throughout much of the post-war period, mainly conservative rightist parties have dominated Asian politics without any significantly powerful leftist parties. .x000d.This paper investigates the mediating impact of democracy on the size of the public sector of Asian governments in the era of globalization. I explore these issues through an analysis of changes of government expenditures in a time-series cross-sectional analysis in thirteen Asian countries from 1970 to 2000. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asian successful economies, such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, were considered as “miracle economies” because they grew faster than any other region of the world in the 1970s, 1980s, up to the East Asian financial crisis in 1997. East Asian financial crisis surprised everyone. Although before East Asian crisis, some economists predicted gradual loss of economic competitiveness and decreasing growth, still could not anticipated such a sudden and abrupt financial crisis. East Asian economic recovery was also impressive. They started to grow again within a few years after the substantial financial crisis. The paper discusses what lessons other countries can learn from East Asian economic growth, crisis and subsequent economic adjustment after crisis. The paper is structured as follows: section one discusses different explanations of East Asian economic growth; section two explains the causes of East Asian financial crisis; section three looks at the causes of early recovery of East Asian economies; and final section points out some lessons that is learned from last three decades of East Asian economic growth, crisis and economic recovery they experienced. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last two decades have witnessed the second wave of regionalism. The primary focus of this paper is on what political and economic forces drive the process of regional integration. Although there is a plethora of literature in this regard, the formation and development of regional blocs have not been clearly understood. Based on a political-economy analysis, this paper examines the key cases of regionalism from Europe, Asia and the Americas, and concludes that high-level economic interdependence, stabilized domestic situations (particularly those of leading countries in the region), and a regional structure with a majority of small states jointly lead to the success of regional integration. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on how social capital impacts the quality of democracy have mostly focused on western democracies. This paper reviews theories of social capital and seeks to apply them in the context of East Asia, examining the effects of interpersonal trust and participation in voluntarily associations on trust in institutions, anti-authoritarian values, and support for democratic principles in seven East Asian countries at different stages of democratic development. Using data from the East Asian Barometer, this paper analyzes both direct and indirect effects of social capital on political support, the latter operating through intermediary variables such as political interest and personal efficacy, and investigates how social capital may build norms and skills that in turn facilitate support for democracy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks two central questions: 1) how and to what extent is Islam becoming politicized in Central Asia since the Soviet collapse? and, 2) what explains this politicization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nation-states and multinational corporations are the principal agents that comprise the international political economy. Yet, the pattern of bargaining between them has been severely understudied by international relations theorists. This paper examines the evolution of risk during the life cycle of an investment project. During the early phase of an investment project in an underdeveloped sector, market risks are unusually high. Most foreign firms are reluctant to enter an environment of high market risks without guarantees. State protection was sought by the foreign manufacturers so as to minimize risks and maximize returns. Since most countries were more dependent on foreign capital in this early phase, MNCs were able to negotiate favorable terms. However, once the projects reached a level of development, market risks began to dissipate. Consequently, during this second phase, host countries became attractive to would-be investors. Increased market attractiveness due to declining risks created the incentives for reforms of the once protected sectors. Liberalization of the economies led to the influx of new foreign investment activity. The increase in new projects after market openness reduced the level of state dependence on the original manufacturers. Host governments were able to substitute the original relationship with alternative ones. The presence of such substitutable alternatives reduced the degree of state dependence on any one firm. As such, host countries were able to play one MNC against another in order to increase their bargaining power. Japanese automobiles investments in Asia are presented as case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to examine the causes of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98. My argument is that financial market liberalization combined with poor institutional foundations for investor protection was a significant determinant of the Asian financial crisis. That is, both financial market liberalization and poor corporate governance played important roles in causing the Asian financial crisis. On the one hand, if the legal protection for investors is already established, financial market liberalization should bring economic benefits to an economy. Yet, when the legal protection for investors is not institutionalized, the financial market liberalization can increase risk and lead an economy into a financial crisis. On the other hand, if the financial market is not liberalized, poor institutional foundations for investor protection do not cause a financial crisis because the government can regulate the capital movement. Yet, if the financial market is liberalized, poor investor protection can make an economy vulnerable to a financial crisis because the government cannot regulate the capital outflow. Therefore, in the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, economies most affected by the crisis were those which rapidly liberalized their financial markets in the early 1990s without establishing the institutional foundations for investor protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the effects of party system characteristics on democratic development in Africa and Asia. We find that the effective number of legislative parties (ENLP) and legislative volatility are both positively associated with democracy. Theory: Democratic governance and meaningful elections have long been considered unattainable in absence of political parties and party competition. The nature and implications of changing party attachments in the Western advanced industrialized countries have been the subject of a great deal of scholarship in the discipline of political science (e.g., see Dalton and Wattenberg 2000), and political party systems in the “emerging democracies” have also attracted scholarly attention (e.g., see Mainwaring and Scully 1995; Dix 1992; Roberts and Wibbels 1999; Hicken 2000; Taylor-Robinson 2001; Bielasiak 2002). Many agree with Mainwaring and Scully’s (1995) contention that party system institutionalization (PSI) is important for the consolidation of democracy. Nonetheless, the precise nature of the relationship between political party systems and democracy has been difficult to distill. Indeed, scholars have made contradictory claims and reported contradictory findings regarding the effects of the different dimensions of political party systems on the consolidation of democracy. How do different party system characteristics affect democracy? Do higher ENLPs contribute to or detract from democracy? Do high levels of electoral volatility create instability and undermine democracy? We attempt to answer these questions by looking at the relationship between ENLP and electoral volatility and democracy in Asia and Africa. These are important questions to address. Different scholars have pointed to trends of rising electoral volatility rates and ENLPs in the industrialized democracies (see Dalton, McAllister, and Wattenberg 2000), and volatility rates and ENLPs in the emerging democracies are generally high. Methods: We test our theoretical expectations about the relationship between these party system characteristics and democracy with pooled time-series cross-sectional analysis covering the electoral regimes in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, including those that have recently undergone transitions to democracy as well as the long-standing democracies on these continents. Our analysis covers all of the elections that have taken place in a particular country since 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I focus on the capabilities of regional major powers and their status. While we know much about the material capabilities of states, we appear to know far less about the determinants and nature of regional major power “status,” and that is the focus of this effort. If relative distribution of power between major powers is a necessary condition for war, status consistency or inconsistency is also can be a cause of war. Even though international relations scholars have made widespread use of the concept of major power status, they have rarely been clear in their definition of the term. Therefore, based on economic and military capability, I will firstly analyze who are the major powers in the regional level. And then I will find out the relationship between status inconsistency and the possibility of war in the region. In order to do that specifically, I choose three regions: Asia, South America and Middle East. To test such arguments I investigate whether the distribution of relative power within regions influence the possibility of militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) among regional members. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holding elections and changing executives and legislators does not necessarily shift the behavior of the state and hence increase accountability. An important problem for politicians in new democracies is how to control the state apparatus. This paper examines the different ways that politicians try to restructure the state in Asia (comparative case studies of Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, and Thailand) so as to increase the state's accountability to citizens and elected politicians. What explains the variance in the extent to which new governments attempt to restructure the lines of accountability of the state? I argue that democratic transitions in which the executive’s preferences are aligned with the status quo elements in the bureaucracy, are characterized by continuity in structure and process and the government will seek to maintain or strengthen executive control. But where the government faces a bureaucracy with divergent preferences and has legislative support, it will attack these entrenched interests by adopting various accountability mechanisms, including independent pro-accountability agencies, administrative procedures, and co-governance arrangements. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will discuss the rise of Shanghai Cooperation Organizatin (SCO) as a regional security apparatus and the resulting impact on United States interests within Central Asia Southeast Asia (CASA) region. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper asks why some international systems outlast the periods of crises while others cannot, and turns to Chinese Empire for an answer. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-owned banks in Latin America and Asia are ridden by lack of accountability, transparency and corruption. The paper provides with a new approach to foster their governance. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the 2003 AsiaBarometer survey, this paper examines the factors that contribute to individuals’ positive or negative perceptions about the U.S. influence in Asia. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the 2003 AsiaBarometer survey, this paper examines the factors that contribute to individuals’ positive or negative perceptions about the U.S. influence in Asia. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question of how ordinary people understand democracy. Do contemporary publics display a reasonable understanding of the meaning of democracy, and what are the contents of their definitions? Do people focus on the procedural aspects of democracy-elections, democratic institutions, and processes-which are the main focus of democratization efforts. Alternatively, do they see democracy in economic or social welfare terms? We draw on a wide range of public opinion surveys that have recently been conducted to explore these questions in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Our research yields two generalizations about popular conceptions of democracy. First, most citizens of new democracies are cognitively capable of imputing meaning to democracy in their own words. Second, and most important, most of those cognitively capable citizens think of democracy in terms of the freedoms, liberties and rights that it conveys, rather than procedural and institutional conceptions of liberal democracy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine reasons why there lacks energy cooperation in Asia despite its potential benefits to economies in the region and explores whether the status quo will change against the increasing integration in the region. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant determinant of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 was financial market liberalization combined with poor institutional foundations for investor protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is the global city a site "of alternative voices" to the nation-state interpretation of political identity? I address this and linked questions examining Japanese, Chinese and Korean migration to Shanghai, Tokyo, and Singapore in the last two decades [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is the global city a site "of alternative voices" to the nation-state interpretation of political identity? I address this and linked questions examining Japanese, Chinese and Korean migration to Shanghai, Tokyo, and Singapore in the last two decades [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study of APEC through unexpected processes it originated. It has indirectly provided a political space to emerging alter-APEC communities which presented alternative discourses on how to define and identify the Asia Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future of the U.S. military presence in Northeast Asia Introduction During the Cold War, the United States deployed a large amount of armed forces in Europe and Asia. In the past, the United States military involvement and intervention were important dynamics for security movement in Asia. These policies and actions also played indispensable roles in the U.S diplomatic and defense policies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States decreased the size of its troops deployed in Europe, but there was no change in Asia. Obviously, the United States is convinced that it is suitable political choice to keep current military presence for guaranteeing the American national interest in Asia and dealing with the happening and future political and security development of this region. The question is: What is the future of the U.S. military presence? (e.g. military strategy, units, structure, personal, bases, cooperation with local countries) in Northeast Asia? Is it likely to remain the same, increase or decrease? Theoretical Construction The U.S military presence is depended on its grand strategy. What is the suitable theory to explain U.S. grand strategy toward this region? In 2002, President George W. Bush said America’s international strategies, and we can find the “Bush Doctrine” in this report; the United States will use a variety of measures, including forces, to actively, preemptively deal with the international affairs. The U.S. seeks not just to deter traditional great powers, but to eliminate the threats of “rogue states” and non-state actors capable of exercising disproportionate influence terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Scholars have attempted to define the U.S grand strategy, for example, Barry R. Posen and Andrew L. Ross said that the United States had to reconsider its national security policy after the Cold War. There are four possible grand strategies; they may be termed neo-isolationism, selective engagement, cooperative security, and primacy. According to Robert J. Art, The United States should maintain military presence abroad to prevent five adverse situations, three ones of those situations relate to Northeast Asia; an acceleration of nuclear weapons spread, great power war, and the conquest or destruction of U.S allies, such as South Korea. John Mearsheimer’s theory of “offensive realism” is a structural theory of international politics. He defines that U.S is an offshore balancer; he means that U.S tried to “pass the buck” to other great powers to balance against the potential hegemony. If the approach failed, the United States will use its own military forces to eliminate the threat and ensure that it remains a sole regional hegemony. By historical experience, I think this theory that is helpful to describe the main reason for U.S to maintain its military presence in this region is past, now and future. The important factors (independent variables) By offensive realism, it is not strange for U.S to keep military presence in Northeast Asia. Now, the question is: What are the variables which increase or decrease the U.S. military presence? l The threat environment in Northeast Asia: present and future In the past five decades, the United States grand strategy was devoted to prevent Communist expansion. The well-known strategy was containment. Containment policy dictated U.S military presence in Asia. The U.S deployed-forward armed forces play two profound roles; formed an effective deterrence to Communism and supported the confidence of allies to defend themselves. As we have seen, there is a new world order in the sense that bipolar system established after World War II broken down. As China and Asia’s economic power rising, the military dimension becomes more important. Events such as: - The potential conflict between Republic of Korea (south) and Democratic People’s Republic Korea(north); One of the most important missions for U.S armed forces in this region to help counter a North Korea invasion. North Korea still deploys a huge amount of troops near the South Korea. The skirmishes between two Koreas are usually. Undoubtedly, the United States will involve any war that breaks out between North and South Korea. - North Korea’s nuclear weapon threat; although this country has serious economic crisis, the possibility of the deployment, production and proliferation of mass destruction weapons in this region is likely to be higher. It confronts Japan and the United States with a host of new security challenges. The United States came close to fighting a war against North Korea in June 1994 to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. In 2003, North Korea administration claimed the similar threat to the United States. - China: There are several reasons led us to believe China is the most important actor for affecting the threat environment that U.S has to face. Firstly, by offshore realism, the United States will prevent any sole hegemony to domain this region. China is a potential hegemony in Asia undoubtedly. In fact, the disappearance of Soviet Union, rising economic power, and nationalism would perhaps increase the possibility for China to become new hegemony to impact on Asian threat environment. Secondly, historically, China’s attitude, geographical situation, and its intervening in regional war, such as Korea War and Vietnam War, directly influenced American military presence in Northern Asia. Thirdly, China has intention to unify Taiwan by forces. The United States could get pulled into war with China over both Korea and Taiwan. In 1996, China’s missile exercise led President Clinton sent two aircraft-carrier battle groups into the waters around Taiwan. China is deploying large numbers of missiles in Fuijian province and its procuring more advanced weapons from Russia has posted a new threat to the U.S military troops in the region during a crisis. Fourthly, China can play relatively significant role in North Korea’s problem because Beijing is a Pyongyang’s supporter for past decades. l The attitude of the host countries: South Korea and Japan Obviously, the domestic pressure for reconsidering the current U.S military bases becomes higher today for two countries’ governments. For example, democratization in South Korea gave the Seoul administration more incentive to re-examine the status of U.S troops than past military leaders. More Japanese living in Okinawa do not favor U.S. troops stationed their island There are a lot negotiations and re-arrangements of the U.S military bases in Okinawa between American and Japanese government after the Cold War. Moreover, South Korea and Japan are stronger and able to defend themselves; therefore, the U.S security commitments to the region now are perhaps not as necessary as in the past decades. l Military technological developments The military technological development seems to change the pattern and varieties of forces deployment. For example, The U.S Air force are attempting to establish a forces of Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV), it would likely to decrease the number of U.S air bases in Asia. Because new aircrafts’ cost—such as F-22 and F-35—are higher than past fighters, the fleet of U.S Air Force is likely to decline. Due to the improvement of tactics and technology of landing battle, the role and deployment of U.S Marine Corps in Okinawa is another interesting issue for Pentagon. In the other words, the NMD (National Missile Defense) and TMD (Theater Missile Defense) have become the new American defense focus, and the North Korean and China ballistic missile threat will led the United States to build a new force based on Japan to help Tokyo administration to defend such threat. My Argument By historic experience and the U.S grand strategy, the important variable to influence the U.S military presence is threat environment. During the Cold War, containment was the core of U.S grand strategy, and the American military presence was an effective tool to contain Communists’ threat and defend the relatively weaker allies. However, the Cold War was end. The regional countries—South Korea and Japan—are also safer and stronger than before. Why do American soldiers stay here? According to offshore realism, therefore, if China does not become a potential hegemon, the United States will be likely to withdraw its troops from this region. If China becomes a potential hegemon, the U.S would keep military presence in the region to deal with China. Although the Soviet Union—the strongest military adversary America ever faced— collapsed, the future threat that U.S. will face in this region does not disappear. In current and future threat environment, China will play more important role due to its rising economy and military capability. However, the China’s problems, such as political instability, huge bad debt problem in banks, conflicts between countryside and urban areas, and serious income diversity not only decline the possibility for Beijing administration to become a regional hegemony, but also perhaps decrease its support to the North Korea. Therefore, the China’s strength or “collapse” will affect the U.S overall policies in this region, including military presence. Of course, it needs time. Moreover, the U.S. host countries (South Korea and Japan) may change the attitude and policies to U.S. military presence in the future. Besides, U.S. military technological development may change the future policies and composition of U.S. military presence. But the U.S military presence in South Korea and Japan not only defend them, but also serve for America’s strategic interest. If the United States supposes the regional threat environment that it needs military forces to deal with, it would persuade the host counties to support U.S policy regardless their possible opposition. In conclusion, the U.S military presence will remain the same in visible future after reviewing these variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Applicability of Confidence & Security Measures (CSBMs) in Northeast Asia – Drawing from the Example of the OSCE.” Recently there have been discussions centered on the applicability of the CSBMs used within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) working within Northeast Asia. In attempting to find concrete measures, these discussions have been aimed at reducing tensions and resolving North Korean issues The OSCE has conducted a series of related workshops with its Partners for Cooperation (Japan, South Korea, and Thailand). The most recent workshop occurred shortly after the first six-party talks, which were launched to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. The informal talks have resulted in the suggestion of the possibility of developing the six-party talks into a multilateral security dialogue in Northeast Asia similar to the OSCE. The OSCE offers a model but not a formula designed for easy replication in Northeast Asia. The author will examine how OSCE experiences, particularly the strong relationship forged with Russia in the OSCE, could provide lessons learned for resolving long-standing security problems in Northeast Asia through a similar organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to test whether there is a significant positive effect by voluntary association on democracy during democratization in Asia. Voluntary associations or groups are important to the study of democratization, since it has been seen as an essential ingredient in consolidating democracy in longstanding democratic countries, as well as in many fledgling democracies. In countries in Asia as in other new democracies of Eastern Europe and South America, it is believed that voluntary association has played an important role in the process of democratization. With respect to Asian case, however, only a few scholars have attempted to derive a theoretical and empirical explanation for the connection between voluntary association and democracy. Furthermore, despite a recognition of the importance of voluntary association to the democratization process, there have been no systematic attempts to specify the attributes of social networks and organizations in the voluntary association of Asian region that facilitate a deepening of democracy. Although scholars have extensively discussed the dynamics and conflicts of political institutions and elites, studies on democratization in this area have neglected to sufficiently investigate the growing importance of civic participation by ordinary citizens within voluntary associations or groups. Drawing upon the recent survey, Democratization and Value Change Survey 2002 that includes six Asian countries (Mongolia, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia), in-depth analysis of this study will either falsify or confirm theories and hypotheses that scholars have discussed in the study of democratization. As opposed to other studies, this study will explore the question of whether voluntary association in Asia has cultural characteristics in the context of democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last decade, many scholars have argued that trade and other forms of economic interchange between countries impact on the incidence of war. Based upon cross-national analysis, these scholars have debated over whether economic interdependence between countries increases or decreases the incidence of war. However, few scholars have attempted to explore this subject in comparative perspective. As a result, to date, little is known whether the different history and culture on specific regions are related to the argument that trade affects the initiation of war. This study first attempts to answer following question by analyzing Militarized Interstate Disputes (MID) data in two different regions: Europe and Asia. Does trade contribute to reduce the incidence of international war? Conversely, does the expansion of trade increase the international conflict? If this study shows different interpretation in analyzing these research questions, why? These are the general research questions this study addresses in this research project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political economy informs the study of institutions, and of norms, which constitute the background to economic development. The rule of law contributes to economic development. In great degree, investor confidence is born under the shelter of law. China’s 1978-2008 achievements generate skepticism about the importance of the rule of law. Nevertheless, parallel years-long, national booms in East Asia sputtered in the face of financial crisis. These countries economically-developed status never consummated. A 2008 stock market collapse in China affords a fine test of China’s 2010 capacity to thrive independently of the rule of law. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the ITU’s internet accessibility survey, South Korea ranked in the top ten, but the many other Asian countries placed outside the top fifty. In an attempt to smooth out differentials of the Digital Access Index among Asian nations, the ITU encouraged government-sponsored initiatives to broaden accessibility. Thus the South Korean government, NGOs, and major electronics companies have been supporting the digital have-nots within the region to construct basic IT infrastructures..x000d.Two questions arise: why are South Korea’s grants centralized around Asia, and do the efforts focus on hardware?.x000d.A hypothesis to the first question is that the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 made the general public in South Korea realize that Asian countries are closely related in their politics, and economy. Moreover, policy makers comprehended that narrowing the digital divide is essential for the sustainable development of South Korea. .x000d.The ethical aspect comes from the experience of the Korea: South Korea was an ODA recipient until 1991, however, in 2005 became the 11th biggest contributor due to rapid economic development, especially in the information technology field. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is a comparative analysis of job incentives in the Asian and American bureaucracy. Assuming that both types work on material incentives, this study focuses on the Asian institutional scheme that has long concealed the material motives. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is there a strong alignment movement between the major and significant powers of North East Asia? A study that combines the ideas of Asian scholars as well as western. What implications an East Asian alignment/alliance could cause. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Cold war, many scholars thought that there are no more arms races, resulting in decrease in the military spending. In spite of these expectations, the expenditures of military have been increased in not only the super powers, but also the developing countries. We examined the effects of the level of democracy, economic conditions, military regimes, civil and international conflicts, and regional proximity on the competition between military and social expenditures to gain more national budgets using data from 165 countries in 1998 to 2003. The level of democracy and military regime were negatively related with the ratio of military spending to social spending. There was a positive relationship between them under incomplete democracy. Economic condition and conflicts were negatively and positively related with the ratio of military spending to social spending, respectively. Geographical proximity in the Middle East and Asian region significantly influenced the national budgets in relation with military and social spending. The results suggest that the level of democracy, economic conditions, international and domestic conflicts and neighboring countries can determine the competition between military and social spending to acquire the national budgets. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]