Asia

The international law of free trade areas/agreements (FTAs) reflects a simple liberal logic of international economic relations. The pursuit of FTAs, however, often falls short of these legal and economic ideals and reflects more complex political calculations. This is...

In March 2006, FPRI’s Asia Program held a conference on “Constitutional Change and Foreign Policy in East Asia.” Panels focused on Japan’s contemplated revisions to its “pacifist” constitution; China’s much-amended constitution, the increasing discourse there about constitutionalism, and its...

Fifty years ago, when I began teaching American students about India, I would probably have begun a lecture on why it’s important for Americans to know about India rather defensively and apologetically. Acknowledging the lack of interest at that...

Why It’s Important to Know about India Ainslie T. Embree of Columbia University noted India’s recent rise in U.S. headlines, especially with the joint statement issued after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s summer 2005 visit to Washington. The statement, pledging...

Barely two weeks after President Bush pointed to Taiwan as an example of democracy that the PRC would do well to emulate, Taiwanese voters went to the polls yet again. This time, they selected county magistrates, county and city...

Walter McDougall opened the conference, speaking of Northeast Asia’s role as “a major hinge, and at times the most important hinge, of global geopolitics.” One could even argue that World War I was a direct result of the 1904...

On the eve of June 4, 1989, a statue dubbed the “Goddess of Democracy” stood opposite Mao’s giant portrait at Tiananmen Square, until the forces of the People’s Liberation Army brought it crashing down during an infamous night of...

On May 20, Chen Shui-bian began his second four-year term as Taiwan’s first president from the former opposition Democratic Progressive Party. Because he had been more assertive on cross-Strait and Taiwan status issues in his campaign than he had...

Democracy’s Limits and Prospects in the P.R.C. The possible sprouts of democracy and the prospects for democratization in the People’s Republic of China were the principal focus for many of the conference’s participants, who approached these questions from diverse...

The Big Mac can be effective tool in helping students achieve a better understanding of Japan. It can defeat Orientalist stereotypes about the Japanese–and also challenge young people who might have oversimplified notions of what exactly occurs when U.S....