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Events Archive – 2012

 

Visiting Scholar Roundtable: Studies on the Development of Regional Production Networks in East Asia and China's Status

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne, Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education of Sri Lanka: Higher Education in Sri Lanka - Challenges and Priorities in a Post-War Setting

Monday, December 17, 2012

China's Rediscovery of Southeast Asia

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Dilemmas of Climate Wise Development in Thailand

Monday, December 10, 2012

Sri Lanka: Post War but not Post Conflict

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

Visiting Scholar Roundtable - North Korea Military Adventurism and the ROK-US Alliance

Tuesday, December 05, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

Policy Briefing: ADB Accountability Mechanism 2012

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

Leadership Change in China: Its Effects in East Asia and Relations with the US

Monday, November 26, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

Taiwan Roundtable - Taiwan and the Diaoyutai Islands: Historical and Regional Perspectives

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

China as a Global Power: Contending Views from China

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Audio View video footage

OAS - Asian Film Series: The Warring States (China)

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Visiting Scholar Roundtable: Evaluation of China's Public Diplomacy in the United States

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Queer China 'Comrade' China: Film Screening and Discussion with Chinese Queer Film Director Cui Zi'en

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Thinking Through US-China Relations: A Conversation with Amitai Etzioni and David Shambaugh

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

Burma in Transition: Climate Wise Development and Sustainable Finance

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The 20th Hahn Moo-Sook Colloquium in the Korean Humanities -Generations: A Century of Modern Korean Literature

Saturday, October 13, 2012

G2 at GW: The 5th Annual Conference on U.S.-China Economic Relations and China's Economic Development

Friday, October 12, 2012

Abducted Children, Japanese Law and Domestic and International Politics

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

OAS - Asian Film Series: Balibo

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Book Launch: Tangled Titans: The United States and China

Friday, October 5, 2012

Audio Listen to the audio

OAS General Body Meeting

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Book Launch - China and Africa: A Century of Engagement

View the video recording of the event HERE

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Discussion: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Reception Signing: 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
1957 E St., NW; City View Room, 7th floor
Washington, DC 20052

Sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Amb. David Shinn, Author, China and Africa: A Century of Engagement; Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, GW

Joshua Eisenman, Author, China and Africa: A Century of Engagement; Senior Fellow in China Studies, American Foreign Policy Council

Moderator: Edward McCord, Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Please join us for the launch of China and Africa: A Century of Engagement, featuring a discussion with coauthors Amb. David Shinn and Joshua Eisenman.

The People's Republic of China once limited its involvement in African affairs to building an occasional railroad or port, supporting African liberation movements, and loudly proclaiming socialist solidarity with the downtrodden of the continent. Now Chinese diplomats and Chinese companies, both state-owned and private, along with an influx of Chinese workers, have spread throughout Africa. This shift is one of the most important geopolitical phenomena of our time. China and Africa: A Century of Engagement presents a comprehensive view of the relationship between this powerful Asian nation and the countries of Africa.

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World War II in East Asian Film: Aishite Imasu 1941 (Philippines)

Thursday, September 27, 2012
5:30 - 6:00 PM Reception
6:00 - 7:40 PM Film
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Chung-wen Shih Conference Room: 1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

Aishite Imasu 1941 (2004) is a story of love, betrayal, and honor set during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines during World War II. The film centers on Inya, a heroine of the Philippine resistance, as she recalls events involving her husband Edilberto and their childhood friend Ignacio, who is a transvestite. The latter becomes the lover of the local Japanese commander, Ichiru, and is torn between his duty to be a spy for his country and his reluctant but growing love.

This film is part of the Organization of Asian Studies' (OAS) Asian Film Series at the Sigur Center. During September 2012, OAS will screen a series of four films that depict East Asian perspectives of WWII.

***This event is open only to current GW students, faculty, and staff***

Please RSVP at go.gwu.edu/AishiteImasu by Wednesday, September 26.

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Assessing China's Prospects: An American-Australian Dialogue & Book Launch: The China Story Yearbook 2012: Red Rising, Red Eclipse

Co-Sponsored by The Australian Centre on China in the World at The Australian National University

Friday, September 21, 2012
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Embassy of Austrialia
1601 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington DC 20036

Australian Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States Graham Fletcher will chair the seminar.

2:00 - 3:20 PM || Session One: Assessing China: Internal Developments

This session will assess the domestic dynamics and challenges facing the new Chinese leadership, as it takes power at the 18th Party Congress in October. This will include consideration of social stability, media trends, political governance, and leadership politics.

Speakers: Professor Geremie Barme (ANU), Professor Bruce Dickson (GWU), and Jeremy Goldkorns

3:20 - 3:40 PM || Coffee Break

3:40 - 5:00 PM || Session Two: Assessing China: Foreign Policy and                                International Relations

This session will discuss China's global diplomacy, its regional relationships in Asia and the state of U.S.-China and Australia-China relations.

Speakers: Professor David Shambaugh (GWU), Professor Robert Sutter (GWU), Professor Richard Rigby (ANU)

5:00 - 6:00 PM || Reception and Book Launch of The China Story Yearbook 2012: Red Rising, Red Eclipse

This session will discuss China's global diplomacy, its regional relationships in Asia and the state of U.S.-China and Australia-China relations.

The inaugural Yearbook is titled Red Rising, Red Eclipse, and covers the period from 2009 to mid 2012. Produced by academics and writers who are members of, or who are affiliated with, the Centre, the Yearbook offers a survey of Chinese politics, law, economics, regional diplomacy, Internet politics, thought, history and culture featuring academic analysis. The Yearbook also has a range of information lists and data compiled by the Centre in coordination with collaborators at Danwei Media under the direction of Jeremy Goldkorn.

Speakers:

Graham Fletcher has been DCM at the Australian Embassy since January 2011. His earlier career focused largely on Australia-China relations, including three postings at the Australian Embassy in Beijing (1986-88, 1997-2000, 2004-08).

Professor Geremie Barmé is founding director of the Australian Centre on China in the World, The Australian National University. He is an historian of China and author of numerous articles and books. He produces the e-journal China Heritage Quarterly and is editor of the recently released The China Story Yearbook 2012: Red Rising, Red Eclipse.

Professor Bruce Dickson is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University. He teaches on China, comparative politics, and democratization. Professor Dickson is currently examining the political consequences of economic reform in China, particularly the relationship between governance and political legitimacy. He is the author of Red Capitalists in China: The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change (2003) and Allies of the State: China's Private Entrepreneurs and Democratic Change (2010).

Jeremy Goldkorn is an editor, writer and specialist on the Chinese Internet. He is the founder and editor of the media project Danwei based in Beijing. Mr Goldkorn and his Danwei colleagues undertake research collaboration with the Australian Centre on China in the World. He was a co-editor of The China Story Yearbook 2012: Red Rising Red Eclipse, and is the author of the chapter "Behind the Great Firewall."

Professor Richard Rigby has a Ph.D in modern Chinese history from the ANU. He worked as a diplomat (including postings in Japan, the UK and China (three times), and as Ambassador to Israel) and senior intelligence analyst in the Office of National Assessments from 1975-2008. He moved to the ANU in 2008 to assume the new position of Executive Director of the ANU China Institute, and is now concurrently Adjunct Director of the Centre on China in the World.

Professor David Shambaugh is recognized internationally as an authority on contemporary Chinese affairs and the international politics and security of the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining the faculty at George Washington, he taught at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, where he also served as editor of The China Quarterly. He has been a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Foreign Policy Studies Program at The Brookings Institution since 1998. His most recent book is Tangled Titans: The United States and China (2012), and China Goes Global: The Partial Power will be published in January 2013.

Professor Robert Sutter has been Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the Elliott School of George Washington University since 2011. His previous full-time positions include national Intelligence Officer for East Asia, Director of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division at the Library of Congress, and Visiting Professor of Asian Studies at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University (2001-2011). His most recent books are U.S.-Chinese Relations: Perilous Past, Pragmatic Present (2010) and Chinese Foreign Relations: Power and Policy since the Cold War (2012).

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OAS Conversations with Scholars "Measuring China's Rise in Asia: Impacts and Implications for the US"

With Dr. Robert Sutter, GWU

Thursday, September 20, 2012
12:15 PM - 1:45 PM
The George Washington University
Sigur Center for Asian Studies, 1957 E St., NW, Suite 503

The Conversations with Scholars series provides students with the opportunity to engage GW professors on contemporary Asia-related topics. These special luncheons are held exclusively for GW students. Be sure to RSVP early!

Based on a review of available scholarship and interviews with 210 specialists and officials from 10 Asia-Pacific governments over the past 8 years, Dr. Robert Sutter has found a number of metrics to use in assessing China's actual influence as it rises in Asia and the world.

In his judgment, these metrics work better than much of the evidence used in the prevailing discourse on China's rise and U.S. decline in assisting observers come to reasonable judgments about the status and outlook of the Asian and international order. Based on his assessment, Sutter forecasts that China's rise will continue to be encumbered by a regional order still led by the United States.

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World War II in East Asian Film: My War (Korea)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012
5:30 - 6:00 PM Reception
6:00 - 8:10 PM Film
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Chung-wen Shih Conference Room: 1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

My Way (2011) is a South Korean war film inspired by the true story of a Korean soldier who was captured by the Americans on D-Day. In the film, Korean native Kim Jun-shik and Japanese aristocrat Tatsuo Hasegawa are young rivals who find themselves in the Japanese army, fighting the Chinese and Soviets in a bloody battle. After both are taken prisoner by the Soviets, their mutual hatred and mistrust boils over into a violence that is only stopped by the continuing horror of the war. Forced to fight for the Soviets, the two eventually rely on each other for survival, making it to Germany, where they are in turn separated and forced to fight for the Nazis. They meet again at Normandy Beach, both unlikely survivors, bonded together by history as they struggle to survive one more terrible battle as the Allies arrive on D-Day.

This film is part of the Organization of Asian Studies' (OAS) Asian Film Series at the Sigur Center. During September 2012, OAS will screen a series of four films that depict East Asian perspectives of WWII.

***This event is open only to current GW students, faculty, and staff***

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Korea-U.S. Relations in an Age of Globalization: Looking Forward after 130 Years of Diplomatic Relations

Co-Hosts:
Korean Association of International Studies (KAIS)
Presidential Council on Nation Branding

Co-Organizers:
The Sigur Center for Asian Studies,
Korean Association of International Studies (KAIS)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons: 1957 E Street, NW, Room 602

This conference marks the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Korea by looking at the issues that may affect relations between the two countries in a globalized future.

9:00 || Registration and Continental Breakfast will be provided

9:15 || Opening Ceremony
Welcoming Remarks: Dr. Edward McCord, Director, Sigur Center
Opening Remarks: Prof. AHN Yin-hay, President of Korean Association of International Studies
Congratulatory Remarks:, Prof. LEE Bae-yong, Chairman, Presidential Council on Nation Branding

9:30 || Panel 1: The Future of Reciprocal Korea-U.S. Relations
Chair: Edward McCord, Director, Sigur Center

"U.S. National Interest and the Future of U.S.-Korea Relations"
Dr. Larry Niksch, Center for Strategic and International Studies

"The Future of Korea-US Relations: A Korean perspective"
Prof. IM Hyug Baeg, Korea University

"US-PRC Relations and their Implications for Korea-U.S. Relations"
Prof. Robert Sutter, GWU

Discussants
Prof. Gregg Brazinsky, GWU
Dr. HONG Hyun-ik, Sejong Institute

11:30 || Lunch

12:00 || Panel 2: Key Issues for Korea-U.S. Relations after 2013
Chair: Prof. YIM Yong-soon, Former president of KAIS, Sungkyunkwan Univ.

"Prospects for U.S.-North Korea Relations after 2013 and Implications for Korea-US Relations"
Prof. Young.C. Kim, GWU

"Korea-U.S. Cooperation on the North Korean Nuclear Problem after 2013"
Dr. Hong Hyun-ik (Sejong Institute)

Korea-U.S. Relations and National Branding: On the Perspective of Korea's Public Diplomacy for Unification"
Prof. Park Ihn-hwi, Ewha Womans University

Discussants
Prof. IM Hyug Baeg, Korea University
Major PARK Si Young, ROK Army, Visiting Scholar, Sigur Center
Dr. Larry Niksch, Center for Strategic and International Studies

2:00 || Coffee Break

2:15 || Round Table Discussion

Co-chaired by:
Prof. Ahn Yin-hay, President of Korean Association of International Studies
Dr. John Merrill, Department of State

Roundtable Participants
Prof. Yim Yong-soon, Former president of Korean Association of International Studies, Sungkyunkwan University
Prof. Yoon Young O, Former president of Korean Association of International Studies, Kookmin Univ.
Mr. Ku Sam-yul. Advisor, Presidential Council on National Branding
Ambassador. Suh Dae-won, Member, Presidential Council on National Branding
Prof. Celeste Arrington, GWU

3:30 || Closing Remarks

Prof. AHN Yin-hay, President of Korean Association of International Studies
Prof. Young.C. Kim, GWU

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In Conversation With Jon Huntsman

Co-sponsored by

Asia Society

Monday, September 17, 2012
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
The Dorothy Marvin Betts Theatre
800 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20052

View the video recording of the event HERE

Minister Yingtai Lung

We are pleased to announce a special event featuring Jon Huntsman, the former Utah Governor, Republican Party presidential candidate and U.S. Ambassador to China. In this moderated discussion, Governor Huntsman will reflect on political, economic and social trends in China, his service as Ambassador to China, and on what he learned about American views of China through his presidential campaign. Governor Huntsman will also take questions from the audience.

Jon Huntsman has served the United States as Ambassador to China and Singapore, and is currently the chairman of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He was Governor of Utah from 2004-2009. He has also served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Development and Commerce for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and as a White House staff assistant in the Reagan Administration. He is a former executive for the Huntsman Corporation.

Moderator David Shambaugh is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the China Policy Program at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Professor Shambaugh is recognized internationally as an authority on contemporary Chinese affairs and the international politics and security of the Asia-Pacific region. His latest book is China's Communist Party: Atrophy & Adaptation (2008).

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World War II in East Asian Film: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (Japan)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012
5:30 - 6:00 PM Reception
6:00 - 8:30 PM Film
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Chung-wen Shih Conference Room: 1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959) is a classic of Japanese cinema and the first film in an epic trilogy based on a novel by Junpei Gomikawa. The trilogy follows the life of Kaji, a Japanese pacifist and socialist, as he tries to survive in World War II-era Japan. No Greater Love opens with Kaji marrying his sweetheart Michiko despite his misgivings about the future. The couple moves to a large mining operation in Japanese-colonized Manchuria where Kaji becomes a labor supervisor assigned to a workforce of Chinese prisoners. He tries and ultimately fails to reconcile his humanistic theories with the brutal reality of forced labor in an imperial system.

This film is part of the Organization of Asian Studies' (OAS) Asian Film Series at the Sigur Center. During September 2012, OAS will screen a series of four films that depict East Asian perspectives of WWII.

***This event is open only to current GW students, faculty, and staff***

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World War II in East Asian Film: The Flowers of War (China)

Tuesday, September 4, 2012
5:30 - 6:00 PM Reception
6:00 - 8:10 PM Film
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Chung-wen Shih Conference Room: 1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503

The Flowers of War (2011) is a Chinese historical drama directed by Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, Hero) and was the Chinese entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards. The film uniquely portrays Japan's 1937 "Rape of Nanking" from the point of view of a young girl. Christian Bale stars as a dissolute Westerner who seeks refuge in a Catholic church, where he meets a beautiful Chinese courtesan who helps him rescue a group of schoolgirls from a terrible fate at the hands of the Japanese.

This film is part of the Organization of Asian Studies' (OAS) Asian Film Series at the Sigur Center. During September 2012, OAS will screen a series of four films that depict East Asian perspectives of WWII.

***This event is open only to current GW students, faculty, and staff***

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Fall Reception at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Friday, September 7, 2012
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Suite 503, 1957 E Street, NW

Please join us in welcoming back Asian Studies students, faculty, staff & friends!

Asian food and drinks will be provided.

 

Impressions From North Korea: Insights From Two GW Travelers

Monday, September 10, 2012
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW, Room 505

The Sigur Center will host a discussion with two members of the GW community who recently returned from North Korea. Justin Fisher and James F. Person will discuss their time teaching and researching, respectively, in North Korea this Summer and impressions from their experiences. Justin Fisher spent a week in North Korea as part of a Statistics Without Borders program teaching statistics to students at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. James Person recently returned from a two-week trip to North Korea where he conducted historical research.

Justin Fisher is a Senior Statistician at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, where he draws samples and analyzes data on a wide variety of topics. Prior to working at the GAO, he held positions at number of United Nations agencies including UNCTAD, UNESCO, and UNESCAP. He traveled to Haiti two months after the 2010 earthquake to assist with a survey designed to estimate the economic impact of the earthquake, and designed a survey in Timor-Leste to estimate the number of human rights abuses over a 25 year period. At the Elliott School, he teaches a graduate course on Quantitative Methods. In addition to teaching in North Korea, he has taught short courses in Fiji and Australia and a short-term GW study abroad in Peru. He is the current chair of Statistics Without Borders.

James Person is a Senior Program Associate with the History and Public Policy Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars where he coordinates the North Korea International Documentation Project. He is also a PhD candidate in Korean history at GW and is completing a dissertation on North Korea's relations with the Soviet Union and China from 1953-1967 and the origins of North Korea's Juche thought.

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Speech by Lung Yingtai - Minister of Culture for R.O.C., (Taiwan): "Soft Power in A Hard Time: A Cultural Perspective on Cross-Strait Relations"

View the video of the event HERE

Co-sponsored by the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution

Tuesday, August 28, 2012
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
The George Washington University
Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st St., NW, Washington, DC 20052

Minister Yingtai Lung

Lung Yingtai, Minister of Culture, R.O.C., (Taiwan) is a celebrated writer, literary critic and public intellectual. Having written 30 books, Lung not only has a large number of devoted readers in her native Taiwan, but her works also have great influence in the Chinese-language world in Hong Kong, China, and North America. After receiving her doctorate in English Literature from Kansas State University, Lung Yingtai taught in several universities, including City University of New York, Taiwan Central University and the University of Heidelberg. During her 13 years' sojourn in Europe, Lung was a regular contributor to newspapers such as the Frankfurter Allgemeinung Zeitung and the Berlin Tageszeitung.

Recognizing Taiwan's potential to share the global cultural spotlight, Lung entered public service as Taipei City Government's first minister of culture in 1999. She quickly earned a reputation for implementing practical projects that successfully transformed rundown buildings into artist villages, literature houses and museums. The eye-catching results unlocked the cultural potential of the metropolis and ushered in a new era of living for residents.

From 2003 until 2012, Lung lived and taught at the University of Hong Kong and in 2008, she received the honor of being named the first "Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities" by the University of Hong Kong.

Lung Yingtai became Taiwan's inaugural Minister of Culture in May, 2012.

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Spring 2012

Dialogue on the Future of HIV/AIDS Community Based Organizations in China

Friday, July 27, 2012
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Harry Harding Auditorium: 1957 E Street, NW, Room 213

9:00-9:10 AM || Opening Address

Elanah Uretsky, Assistant Professor of Global Health, Anthropology, and International Affairs, GWU

9:10-10:40 AM || Panel I: Chinese HIV/AIDS CBOs: Experience, Obstacles and Needs

Yuan Wenli, Secretary, Women's Networks Against AIDS-China (WNAC)
Lanlan, Director, Tianjin Xin'ai Cultural Communication Center
Tony Zheng, China's Sex Worker Network Platform
Zhang Ning, Qingdao Sex Worker Organization
Moderator: Elanah Uretsky, Assistant Professor of Global Health, Anthropology, and International Affairs, GWU

11:00-12:30 PM || Panel II: Benefits of Foreign Cooperation for Chinese HIV/AIDS CBOs

Audio Listen to the audio

Andrew Miller, Country Director, PSI China
Shirley Lin, Country Manager, Pact China
Moderator: Elanah Uretsky, Assistant Professor of Global Health, Anthropology, and International Affairs, GWU

12:30-1:00 PM || Lunch

China has made incredible progress on its HIV epidemic, in part, because of the hard work of several hundred community-based organizations (CBOs) that have received support from multilateral and bilateral organizations and international foundations. Many of these CBOs have been very successful at improving access to treatment, gaining rights for people who are vulnerable to or affected by HIV, and raising awareness. Please join us for a dialogue between several Chinese CBOs working on HIV/AIDS and some of the organizations that have supported their work.

Please click here for a list of available participant biographies is available.

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations' Public Intellectual Program, funded by the Henry Luce and C.V. Starr Foundations.

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The Korean Peninsula After the 2012 Presidential Elections in the U.S., South Korea, and Regional States (DAY 2)

Jointly with the Rising Powers Initiative and the International Council on Korean Studies

Thursday, June 28, 2012
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Lindner Commons: 1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

8:30-9:30 || Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:45-11:45 || Panel IV: The Prospect of Korea's Economic Relations with Major Powers After the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement

Audio Listen to the audio

"The Impact of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement on Both Economies"
Yoon-Shik Park, George Washington University

"The United States, Korea, and Asian Regionalism: The TPP vs. Intra-Asian FTAs (China, Korea, Japan, ASEAN)"
Claude Barfield, American Enterprise Institute

"The Russo-Korean Cooperation for Natural Resources: the Prospect of the Trans-Siberian Gas Pipeline"
Sung Gul Hong, Kookmin University and JinWhyu Mok, Kookmin University

12:00-1:45 || Luncheon and Luncheon Speech

"The U.S.-R.O.K. Partnership and the Peace and Prosperity in East Asia"
Honorable Doris Kathleen Stephens, former U.S. Ambassador to R.O.K.

2:00-4:15 || Panel V: The U.S.-Korean Alliance After the 2012 Presidential Elections

Audio Listen to the audio

"North Korean Capability to Conduct Provocations and the ROK-US Capability to Counter Them"
Sung Pyo Hong, Ajou University

"The North Korean Asymmetric Threat: Advances and Internet"
Bruce E. Bechtol, Jr., Angelo State University

"The Right Steps to ROK Defense Reform: How to Overcome Constraints"
Bruce Klingner, the Heritage Foundation

4:30-4:50 || Closing Remarks

Audio Listen to the audio

 

 

The Korean Peninsula After the 2012 Presidential Elections in the U.S., South Korea, and Regional States (DAY 1)

Jointly with the Rising Powers Initiative and the International Council on Korean Studies

Wednesday, June 27, 2012
8:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Lindner Commons: 1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

8:30-9:30 || Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:30-9:50 || Opening Remarks

10:00-11:45 || Panel I: Major Powers' Relations in the Korean Peninsula

Audio Listen to the audio

"The U.S. Policy toward the Two Koreas after the U.S. & ROK Elections in 2012"
Doug Bandow, The Cato Institute

"China's Korean Policy after the 2012 Leadership Transitions in Asia and America"
Gordon G. Chang, Forbes.com

"Russia's Policy toward North Korea in the Post-Kim Jung Il Era"
Byungki Kim, Institute for Sustainable Development, Korea University

"The Abductions Issue Ten Years On: Japan and the Korean Peninsula"
Celeste Arrington, George Washington University

12:00-1:45 || Luncheon and Luncheon Speech

"ROK-U.S. Relations after the Ratification of the Bilateral Free Trade Agreement"
Joonkook Hwang, Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister for Political Affairs, Embassy of the Republic of Korea

2:00-3:45 || Panel II: The U.S.-Korean Alliance After the 2012 Presidential Elections

Audio Listen to the audio

"'It Takes a Strategy' To Deal with North Korea and its Provocations"
Colonel David S. Maxwell, USA (Ret.), Georgetown University

"The U.S.-ROK Contingency Plan for the DPRK Crisis in the Post-Kim Jung Il Era"
Changhee Park, Korean National Defense University

"America's Pacific Power and Pacific Alliances in an Age of Austerity"
Michael O'Hanlon, The Brookings Institution

3:45-4:15 || Coffee Break

4:15-6:00 || Panel III: North-South Korean Relations in the New R.O.K. Administration

Audio Listen to the audio

"The Challenge of North Korea's Nuclear Program and Two Korea Relations"
Yun Young Cho, Chungang University

"The Kim Jong-Un Regime's Survival Strategy and Prospects for Inter-Korean Relations"
Hong Nack Kim, West Virginia University

"The Prospect for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation: the Next Phase"
Nicholas Eberstadt, American Enterprise Institute

6:30-9:00 || Dinner and Dinner Speech

Audio Listen to the audio

"A Free North Korea"
Lt. Gen. Wallace "Chip" Gregson, USMC (ret), former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Asian and Pacific Security Affairs

P D F file iconClick here for a complete conference program.

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Direct from the Rio +20 Summit on Sustainable Development: Impressions of a Chinese Scholar

Audio Listen to the audio

Friday, June 22, 2012
12:00PM - 2:00 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505

Co-Sponsored by Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia (PISA)

Yu Hongyuan
Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute for Comparative Politics and Public Policy, Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS)

Moderator: Linda J. Yarr
Director, Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia

Dr. Yu Hongyuan shared his impressions of the Rio +20 Summit on Sustainable Development that took place from June 20 - 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Rio +20 Summit will brought together world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection.

YU HONGYUAN is Professor and Deputy Director of the Department of International Organizations and Laws at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS). He is also an honorary fellow of Center for International Energy Strategy Studies, Renmin University of China, and an honorary fellow of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. He received his Ph.D from Chinese University of Hong Kong, and M.Phil from Renmin University of China. From 1998 to 2000, he worked with the administrative centre for China's Agenda 21 at the Ministry of Science and Technology. Yu Hongyuan is the author of numerous publications, including most recently Environmental Change and the Asia Pacific.

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Reflections on China and Taiwan: Deriving Critical Social, Political and Business Lessons

Audio Listen to the audio

Monday, June 18, 2012
12:30PM - 2:00 PM
The Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons: 1957 E Street, NW, 6th floor

Co-Sponsored by the George Washington University School of Business and the National Association of Asian MBAs (NAAMBA-GW)

Doug Guthrie
Dean of the George Washington University School of Business

Cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan continue to rank high on issues of importance in the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Doug Guthrie, Dean of the George Washington University School of Business will hold a talk on the subject, utilizing his extensive knowledge of Chinese culture and economics. Dr. Guthrie will discuss the critical social, political and business lessons to be drawn from the China-Taiwan relationship.

DOUG GUTHRIE is Dean of the George Washington University School of Business. He is a recognized expert in the fields of economic reform in China, leadership and corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Dr. Guthrie holds an A.B. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations with a concentration in Chinese literature from the University of Chicago. He earned his Master's and Ph.D. degrees in organizational sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. His doctoral research was recognized with the American Sociological Association's national award for the top dissertation in the field in 1997. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Dr. Guthrie studied in Taipei, Taiwan during his undergraduate years and conducted his doctoral research in Shanghai, China.

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When Education Meets Peoples and Cultures: Baguio City's Transition from Colonial Hill Station to University Town

Monday, May 21, 2012
12:00 - 1:00 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Charita A. Delos Reyes
Visiting Scholar at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies

The Philippine city of Baguio has a history beginning as a colonial summer hub and a government center. By using an interdisciplinary approach and an eclectic methodology, (archival data, statistics, and digital media), Charita A. Delos Reyes draws significant insights into the educational encounters between people of varied ethnicities and cultures through time; identifies and discusses the achievements of prominent and unknown educational builders and pioneer educators; analyzes how educational institutions at varied points in time assuaged the transmission, permeation and reproduction of a 'hegemonic' culture and ideology; and compares local responses in opposition or cooperation to policy directions envisioned by the city's educational institutions.

CHARITA A. DELOS REYES is a visiting scholar at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies. She is Assistant Professor of History at the Department of History and Philosophy, College of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines Baguio. She has a Master of Arts in Education (major in Administration and Supervision) and a Master of Arts in History. She is a Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. She is a recipient of a Fulbright Dissertation Research Grant, which the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF)- Fulbright Commission awarded to her in August 2011 - May 2012.

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Asian Studies Graduation Reception

Friday, May 18, 2012
1:00 - 3:30 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Celebrate with the Class of 2012! All Asian Studies graduates, family, faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend! Asian food and drinks will be provided.

 

2012 Annual Conference of the Chinese Military History Society

Thursday, May 10, 2012
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Lindner Commons: 1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Session 1: 8:45 AM - 10:15 AM

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Peter Lorge
(Vanderbilt University), "War in the Discources on Salt and Iron"

Jonathan Skaff
(Shippensburg University), "The Geo-Strategic Significance of Inner Mongolia: A Case Study of the Sui-Tang and Turk Empires"

George L. Israel
(Macon State College), "Ming Court and Country during the Ning Princely Rebellion"

Session 2: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

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David Silbey
(Cornell University), "Military Choices Made by the Empress Dowager Cixi during the Boxer Uprising"

Edward A. McCord
(George Washington University), "Predatory Warlordism: Wang Zhanyuan in Hubei"

Yan Xu
(Ohio State University), "War Heroes: The Making of Soldiers' Masculinities in Modern China, 1925-1945"

Lunch: 12:00 PM - 1:45 PM

Session 3: 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM

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Harold M. Tanner
(University of North Texas), "Learning Through Practice: Chinese Communist Forces in the Three Expeditions/Four Defenses Campaign, Winter 1946-47"

Edward F. Chen
(Flushing, NY), "'Broken Fist': The Decline and Recovery of the Nationalist Armor Force during the Chinese Civil War, 1945-50"

Session 4: 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM

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Benjamin Knight
(UC Berkeley), "People's Army versus People's Party: Comparing Domestic Military Influence in Postwar China and North Korea"

Xiaoming Zhang
(U.S. Air War College), "A Reassessment of the 1979 War"

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Taiwan and Asia Pacific Economic Integration: ECFA, TPP, and Beyond

Monday, April 30, 2012
10:00 AM - 2:30 PM
City View Room: 1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

10:00 AM - 10:15 AM WELCOME

Edward McCord
Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

10:15 AM - 11:45 AM Panel I

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"Free Trade Agreements: Taiwan's Pathway Toward Continued Prosperity"
William Liu

Senior Executive Economic Officer, Economic Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States

"The Prospects for Leadership in Ma's Second Term"
Rupert Hammond-Chambers

President, U.S.-Taiwan Business Council

"Economic Drivers of the U.S. Pivot to Asia"
Matthew Goodman

Simon Chair in Political Economy, Center for Strategic and International Studies

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM LUNCHEON

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Panel II

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"Taiwan and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement: Opportunities and Challenges"
Joseph Chien-yen Chang

Visiting Scholar, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

"Alternate Paths for Taiwan's Integration into the Regional Architecture"
Claude Barfield

Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute

"What Taiwan Can Do to Become the Top Regional Business Hub"
Derek Scissors

Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation.

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Asian Film Series: Summer Time Machine Blues (Japan)

Co-sponsored with the Japanese American Student Association

Thursday, April 26, 2012
7:30 - 8:00 PM Reception
8:00 - 9:45 PM Film
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

In this 2005 comedy from Japan, a ragtag group of college kids get their hands on an honest-to-goodness time machine and end up wreaking havoc on the time-space continuum in one of the funniest films ever made about time travel.

Synopsis: Five members of a university sci-fi club, and their neighboring two-girl photography club, are whiling away their dreamy summer playing 3-on-3 baseball with a dog. In the hottest weather imaginable, the boys accidentally break their air conditioner. Luckily, a traveler from the future suddenly drops in with a ride-on time machine! The boys decide to use the device to prevent the destruction of their precious air conditioner and save themselves from another sweaty afternoon. But then missions like this never go as smoothly as planned...
Japanese with English subtitles.

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Redrawing the Boundaries of War Journalism: Covering Complex Conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia Today

Co-sponsored by the Institute for Middle East Studies

Monday, April 23, 2012
5:30 - 7:00 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Shahan Mufti
Freelance Journalist and Adjunct Professor of Journalism, University of Richmond

Journalists are covering complex conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia today. Faced with mounting challenges to personal safety and of poor access to conflict zones, journalists and news organizations are increasingly innovative with technologies and practices in reporting these conflicts, some of which are redrawing the traditional boundaries of the profession. In his presentation, Mr. Mufti will discuss some of the methods news media are employing to cover events inside challenging conflict zones and how they might impact the nature and quality of journalism from that region.

SHAHAN MUFTI is a freelance journalist. His work has been published by Harper's Magazine, WIRED, The New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek and many others. Between 2007 and 2009 Shahan reported from Pakistan as a correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor. He later joined the team of journalists that launched GlobalPost, an online portal for international news, for which he reported from South Asia and the United States. Mr. Mufti is a graduate of New York University, Middlebury College, and the United World College of the American West. In 2004 and 2005 he served as a Fulbright scholar in India. Mr. Mufti regularly teaches writing and reporting courses at colleges and universities. He is currently writing a book about the cultural and religious roots of modern Pakistan, to be published by Other Press.

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Earthwork, Home-making, and Eco-aesthetics Among Ando Tibetans

Friday, April 20, 2012

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12:45 - 2:00 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 112
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Dan Smyer Yu
Anthropologist, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Gottingen, Germany

This presentation explores eco-aesthetic meanings of the intersections of natural landscape, religious practices, and home-making in a Tibetan farming village nestled on an alluvial fan of a dried tributary of a large river. Using a synthesized perspective of cultural anthropology, phenomenology of landscape, and religious studies, the presentation will demonstrate how place-specific and culturally-contextualized landscapes have subjectivities of their own. In the context of the Tibetan landscape, this earth-subjectivity is inextricably intertwined and interwoven with collective human subjectivity rested upon human social activities. The materiality of this intersubjective relation between the landscape and humans constitutes an "inter-dwelling process."

DAN SMYER YU is an anthropologist of religion specializing in the studies of religious revitalizations, charismatic communities, commercialization of religious spirituality, and the relationship between eco-religious practices and place-making in contemporary China. He received his Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the University of California at Davis. Prior to his joining Max Planck, he was a New Millennium Scholar and the Associate Director of the Ethnic Minority Study Center of China at Minzu University of China.

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OAS Asian Film Series: Summer Pasture (Tibet)

Co-sponsored with Machik

Tuesday, April 17, 2012
5:30 - 6:00 PM Reception
6:00 - 7:20 PM Film
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Summer Pasture is a feature-length documentary about a young nomadic couple living with their infant daughter in the pastures of eastern Tibet. With unique access to an area seldom visited by outsiders, the film offers a rare window into a highly insular community and a sensitive portrait of a family at a time of great transition. Locho and his wife Yama live in Dzachukha, eastern Tibet -- nicknamed "Five-Most" by the Chinese for being the highest, coldest, poorest, largest, and most remote area in Sichuan Province. They depend on their herd of yaks for survival, just as their ancestors have for generations. In recent years however, Dzachukha has undergone rapid development, which poses unprecedented challenges to nomadic life.

Summer Pasture evolves as an intimate exploration of Locho and Yama's personalities, relationship, and the complicated web of circumstances that surrounds them. It provides a deeply personal account of what it means to be a nomad in a swiftly modernizing world, and a universal story of family survival.

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Power, Identity, and Security in Asia: Views on Regional Cooperation and the U.S. Role

Co-sponsored by the Rising Powers Initiative

Monday, April 16, 2012
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Lindner Commons: 1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

9:00-9:20 || Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:20-9:30 || Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Deepa Ollapally
Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies & Associate Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU

9:30-10:30 || Session I: Power and Identity in India

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Alyssa Ayres
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, State Department (Chair)

Deepa Ollapally
Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies & Associate Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU (Presenter)

Amitabh Mattoo
Professor of Disarmament Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University & Director, Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne (Presenter)

Jonah Blank
Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation (Discussant)

10:30-11:30 || Session II: Power and Identity in Japan

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Edward J. Lincoln
Professorial Lecturer, GWU (Chair)

Mike Mochizuki
Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Japan-U.S. Relations Chair in Memory of Gaston Sigur, Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU (Presenter)

Isao Miyaoka
Associate Professor of International Politics, Department of Political Science, Keio University (Presenter)

Sheila Smith
Senior Fellow for Japan Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (Discussant)

11:30-12:30 || Session III: Power and Identity in Korea

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Thomas Hubbard
McLarty Associates and Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (Chair)

Gregg Brazinsky
Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, GWU (Presenter)

Jong-dae Shin
Associate Professor, University of North Korean Studies (Presenter)

Ji-Young Lee
Assistant Professor, School of International Service, American University(Discussant)

12:30-1:45 || Luncheon and Keynote Address

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Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs

2:00-3:00 || Session IV: Power and Identity in ASEAN

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Satu Limaye
Director, East-West Center in Washington (Chair)

Amitav Acharya
Professor of International Relations, School of International Service, American University (Presenter)

Allan Layug
Japanese Government Scholar, Sophia University, Japan (Presenter)

Alice Ba
Associate Professor, Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware (Discussant)

3:00-4:00 || Session V: Power and Identity in China

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Evan Medeiros
Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council (Chair)

Allen Carlson
Associate Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University (Presenter)

Taylor Fravel
Associate Professor of Political Science, MIT (Discussant)

4:00-4:15 || Coffee/Tea Break

4:15-5:00 || Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy: Liberal Internationalist and Realist Views

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Keynote Speakers:

G. John Ikenberry
Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

Charles Glaser
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director, Institute for Security and Conflict Studies, GWU

5:00-5:05 || Closing Remarks

Mike Mochizuki
Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Japan-U.S. Relations Chair in Memory of Gaston Sigur, Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU

5:05-5:30 || Conference Reception

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation for this conference.

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China's Impact on the International Order: Supporter or Revisionist?

Presented by the Rising Powers Initiative
Trans
national Asia Lecture Series

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
12:30 - 1:30 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Dr. Lanxin Xiang
Professor of International History and Politics, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva

What is "international order"? Historically, Chinese views on existing international order have undergone several stages of transformation. The fundamental question today is whether or not China should continue adhering to an international order to whose rules China has contributed little. The future trend is that China has to be a "selective" participant in that order, and at the same time, it will try to make contributions to the changing rules of the game.

LANXIN XIANG is Professor of International History and Politics at the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI), Geneva. He was also Director of China Policy Analysis at HEID. He held the Henry A. Kissinger Chair of Foreign Policy and International Affairs at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, in 2003-04. He has also held a Chair of International Affairs at Fudan University in Shanghai, and Zijiang Chair at East China Normal University and a Visiting Chair at Foreign Affairs University, (CFAU), Beijing. He is a Senior Associate at CSIS in Washington, DC, and Contributing Editor at Survival, IISS, London. He is a regular commentator for South China Morning Post, Hong Kong and Global Times, Beijing. A graduate of Fudan University in Shanghai, he has a PhD from the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. His publications include three English books and five in Chinese. Currently he is finishing a book project titled, The Leibniz Paradox: China and The West in the 21st Century.

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OAS Asian Film Series: Blind Shaft (China)

Co-sponsored with Global China Connection
Open to GW students, faculty, and staff only

Friday, April 6, 2012
5:30 - 6:00 PM Reception
6:00 - 7:30 PM Film
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

An underground film from China, in more ways than one. Blind Shaft (2003) is about a pair of brutal con artists operating in the illegal coal mines of present-day northern China.

Synopsis: Two criminal drifters, Song and Tang, have hit upon the perfect scam: murder one of their fellow mine workers, make the death look like an accident, and extort money from the boss to keep the incident hushed up. For their latest "mark," they choose a naive teenager from a small village, and as they prepare to carry out their newest plan, things start to get complicated... Mandarin with English subtitles.

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Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Taiwan Forum Series

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Friday, April 6, 2012
2:00 - 4:00 PM
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Joseph C. Y. Chang
Chief, APEC Affairs Section, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan;
Visiting Scholar, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a premier forum for regional economic cooperation. Since joining APEC in 1991, Taiwan has worked closely with the other twenty member economies of the organization and played a proactive role in its meetings. Taiwan is widely regarded as a model member of APEC for its significant contributions in promoting trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and sustainable development.

JOSEPH C. Y. CHANG is a visiting scholar at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, where his research topic is "The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Economic and Strategic Implications for the Asia-Pacific Region." He is also Chief of the APEC Affairs Section of the Department of International Organizations at Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He joined the Taiwan's Foreign Service in 1999. He received his MA and BA in international relations from National Chengchi University, Taipei.

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Modernization and Its Discontents: A Field Study of Foreign Direct Investment in the Forest of Laos

Student Research Lecture Series

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Thursday, April 5, 2012
4:00 - 5:00 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Karen Wenchao Mo
MA Candidate, International Development Studies, GWU

The Government of Laos's economic growth strategy to modernize the forestry sector through the promotion of foreign direct investment in commercial tree plantation has a profound impact on local communities. This presentation will cover the legal, political, social, and local economic implications of commercial tree plantation development. It includes a case study of tensions between commercial investors and local villages in Savannakhet Province in Central Laos, based on field research data collected through key informant interviews, household survey, and GIS mapping.

KAREN WENCHAO MO has over three years of experience in emerging market business development and international project management in the IT industry. She has also conducted research and policy advocacy at ODA Reform Network in Tokyo and assisted the management and research of CSR projects at World Environment Center in Washington DC. To augment her professional expertise in understanding the role of the private sector in development, she conducted a field study in rural Laos as a Sigur Center for Asian Studies Summer Research Fellow in 2011. Currently, Karen works as a research assistant at the Institute for Corporate Responsibility. Her concentration at the Elliott School of International Affairs is in Private Sector Development and Sustainability. She is a native speaker of Japanese and Chinese and has intermediate-level proficiency in Spanish and basic-level Lao.

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Annual Gaston Sigur Memorial Lecture in Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Sigur Center


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Wednesday, April 4, 2012
6:00 - 6:30 PM Reception
6:30 - 7:30 PM Lecture
City View Room
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Ezra Vogel
Henry Ford II Research Professor of the Social Sciences, Emeritus, Harvard University

Join us in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Sigur Center! This year, Professor Vogel will lecture on the topic of "China as Number One? Managing the End of Rapid Growth in Japan and China."

EZRA VOGEL is a scholar of both modern Japan and China. He was assistant professor at Yale University from 1960-61 and a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard from 1961-64, studying Chinese language and history, before becoming a lecturer in 1964 and professor in 1967. Professor Vogel succeeded John Fairbank as second Director (1972-1977) of Harvard's East Asian Research Center and second Chairman of the Council for East Asian Studies (1977-1980). He was Director of the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at the Center for International Affairs (1980-1987) and, since 1987, Honorary Director. He was director of the Undergraduate Concentration in East Asian Studies at Harvard from its inception in 1972 until 1989. In 1993 he took a two-year leave of absence to serve as National Intelligence Officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council. He returned to Harvard in September 1995 to direct the Fairbank Center until 1999 and was head of the Asia Center from 1997 to 1999. He taught courses on communist Chinese society, Japanese society, and industrial East Asia. He officially retired in 2000 but remains active in research and East Asia related activities. His most recent publication is Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China (2011).

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Burma After the By-Elections: Taking Gender and Human Security into Account

Subnational Asia Lecture Series

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
5:30 - 6:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Christina Fink
Professor of Practice, Elliott School of International Affairs

Tom Malinowski
Washington Director, Human Rights Watch

Mark Taylor
Senior Coordinator, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, State Department

Wenchi Yu
Senior Advisor, Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues, State Department

Moderator: Deepa Ollapally
Associate Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU;
Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Democratic parties' participation in the April 1 by-elections in Burma reflect a partial political opening and the expectation that some of the country's pressing challenges can be addressed. This panel will highlight human security issues, taking into account the ways in which men and women may be differently affected, and will consider how the US government and US organizations might be able to play a supportive role.

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After the Earthquake and Tsunami: Japan's Nuclear, Economic, and Political Challenges -- One Year Later

Subnational Asia Lecture Series

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012
12:00 - 1:30 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Dr. Philippe Bardet
Assistant Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, GWU

Dr. James Kilpatrick
Adjunct Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU

Dr. Llewelyn Hughes
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GWU

Moderator: Dr. Edward Lincoln
Professorial Lecturer, GWU

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Innovations in Inclusiveness and Accountability: How the ADB Ensures Responsible Development Investment in Asia

Hosted by Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia (PISA)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012
12:00 - 1:30 PM Lunch and Panel Presentation
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Ms. Ann Quon
Principal Director, External Relations Department, ADB, Manila

Mr. Allessandro A. Pio
Resident Director General, North American Representative Office

Dr. Sean Roberts
Associate Professor of Practice of International Affairs;
Director, International Development Studies Program, GWU

Moderator: Ms. Linda J. Yarr
Director, PISA

In an era of public mistrust of many major financial institutions, learn how the Asian Development Bank is increasing accountability and transparency in its lending practices:

"The Public Communications Policy of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a living document that guides the institution's efforts to be transparent and accountable to the people it serves. This policy recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. ADB's vision of an Asia and the Pacific free of poverty cannot be achieved unless ADB is aware of its stakeholders' needs and, conversely, unless those stakeholders understand and support ADB's role and operations in the region."

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China, India, and Water Security in the Greater Himalayas

Co-sponsored by the Rising Powers Initiative and the China Policy Program
Trans
national Asia Lecture Series

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012
4:00 - 5:30 PM
1957 E Street, NW, Room 505
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Dr. Katherine Morton
Associate Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific; Senior Fellow, Department of International Relations, Australian National University

The Himalayan Tibetan Plateau contains more than 15,000 glaciers that feed the major river systems in Asia that, in turn, support up to 20 per cent of the world's population. China and India are likely to play defining roles in shaping the region's water future. This lecture will present an overview of water security concerns in the region and the complex trade-offs between water, energy, and food demands during a period of rapid industrialization. It will examine both the limits and opportunities for enhancing transboundary governance, highlighting the central importance of greater cooperation across the Sino-Indian border.

KATHERINE MORTON is Associate Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific and Senior Fellow in the Department of International Relations at the Australian National University. She is a specialist on China and International Relations with a particular focus on environmental governance, non-traditional security, regional cooperation, and international norms. For the past seven years, she has been conducting research on the Tibetan Plateau looking at the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities as well as the implications for regional security. Dr. Morton is the author of China and the Global Environment (2009).

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OAS Conversations with Scholars: "Red Vengeance: Political Inequality and Maoist Violence in India"

***Open to current GW students and staff only

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Sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies

Tuesday, March 20, 2012
12:30 - 1:45 PM Lunch and Discussion
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Emmanuel Teitelbaum
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs;
Director, Master of Arts Program in Asian Studies

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has characterized the Maoist insurgency as 'India's number one internal security threat.' Yet despite its implications for the stability of the world's largest democracy, and one of the United States' most important allies in Asia, the insurgency has not received serious attention by scholars. What are the causes of the Maoist uprising and how should the Indian government respond to it? Should India rely on its military in dealing with the rebels? Or should the conflict be addressed by ameliorating the poverty and inequality that are thought to fuel the violence? Finally, what is the role of political inequality in the conflict? Might greater political participation by traditionally excluded groups help to alleviate tensions between the government and the Maoists?

EMMANUEL TEITELBAUM is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at GW and Director of the MA Program in Asian Studies. His research examines the political roots of class conflict and the foundations of class compromise. His forthcoming book, Managing Dissent: Government Responses to Industrial Conflict in Post-Reform South Asia, explores the dynamics of state-labor relations and industrial conflict following the implementation of neoliberal economic reforms. Professor Teitelbaum's research has received support from the United States Institute of Peace, the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation and the Social Science Research Council. He was the recipient of the 2007 Gabriel Almond Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics. He holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and a B.A. from John Carroll University.

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Myanmar in Transition: New Dynamics between ASEAN and Yangon

Transnational Asia Lecture Series

Monday, March 19, 2012
12:00 - 12:30 PM Luncheon
12:30 - 2:00 PM Presentation and Discussion
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Amitav Acharya
Professor of International Relations, American University

David Steinberg
Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University

Christina Fink, Discussant
Professor of Practice of International Affairs, George Washington University

Deepa Ollapally, Moderator
Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Although the situation remains highly uncertain, the pace with which Myanmar has rolled out reforms in the last few months has taken many long-time Myanmar watchers and policymakers in Southeast Asia, Washington, and elsewhere, by surprise. This panel of three Myanmar and ASEAN experts will examine the new dynamics in the relationship between ASEAN and Burma, as well as suggest specific policies that influential external actors like ASEAN and the United States, may use to engage the regime in Yangon.

The Sigur Center gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation for this Policy Briefing.

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Remembering 3.11 Through the Eyes of Students from Japan

Sponsored by the Japanese American Student Union and the Organization of Asian Studies

Friday, March 9, 2012
9:15 - 9:30 AM Registration
9:30 - 12:30 PM Event
12:30 - 1:00 PM Lunch
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Mike Mochizuki
Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GWU

Edward Lincoln
Professorial Lecturer, GWU

Emma Chanlett-Avery
Specialist in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service

It has been almost a year since the 9.0M earthquake hit the northeastern part of Japan, but the damage from the tsunami and the nuclear fallout continues to affect thousands of lives. In remembrance of this tragic disaster, the Japanese American Student Union of D.C. has invited 25 students from Japan, including those from the most devastated Tohoku region, to share their personal experiences and to consider how our generation can contribute to Japan's recovery. JASU is also honored to invite Dr. Mike Mochizuki, Dr. Edward Lincoln, and Ms. Emma Chanlett-Avery to discuss Japan's future economic, domestic and foreign policy challenges.

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China's International Energy Strategies: Global and Regional Implications

Transnational Asia Lecture Series

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Philip Andrews-Speed
Fellow, Transatlantic Academy, the German Marshall Fund of the United States;
Associate Fellow, Chatham House

Discussant: Llewelyn Hughes
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs

China is now a major player in the international energy arena. Imports of all forms of energy are increasing; national energy companies are investing around the world; and the government is active in different forms of energy diplomacy. These behaviors are driven by a range of interests from within and outside China. The external political consequences are rather greater than the economic ones, and vary around the world. China is a key player, along with Japan, in the progress of energy cooperation in East Asia.

PHILIP ANDREWS-SPEED was, until 2010, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Dundee and Director of the Centre of Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy. The focus of his research has been on energy policy, regulation and reform in China, and on the interface between energy policy and international relations. His books include Energy Policy and Regulation in the People's Republic of China (Kluwer Law International, 2004) and China, Oil and Global Politics with Roland Dannreuther (Routledge, 2011). The Governance of Energy in China: Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy will be published by Palgrave MacMillan later in 2012.

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Asian Film Series: Formosa Betrayed (Taiwan)

Sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies and the FAPA Young Professionals Group

Tuesday, February 28, 2012
5:30 - 6:00 PM Reception
6:00 - 7:45 PM Film
1957 E Street, NW, Suite 503
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Set in Chicago and Taiwan in the 1980s, Formosa Betrayed follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent investigating the murder of a Taiwanese professor at a midwestern college. The search for his killers takes the agent to Taiwan where he discovers there is more involved in this murder than he ever anticipated.

This film screening commemorates the 65th anniversary of the 228 Massacre that triggered the start of the democratic movement in Taiwan. A brief reception and networking session will precede the film. An American missionary, who witnessed the white terror in Taiwan during the martial law period, will also share his story and analysis on how Taiwan became a beacon of democracy in Asia.

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Lessons From Taiwan's Elections

Taiwan Roundtable Series

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
12:00 - 12:30 PM Luncheon
12:30 - 2:00 PM Discussion
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Emerson Niou
Professor of Political Science, Duke University

Suisheng Zhao
Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation, University of Denver

Michael Fonte
Washington Liaison, Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan

Moderator: Edward McCord
Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies, GWU

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Experiencing the Taiwan Elections

Sponsored by the Organization for Asian Studies, Global China Connection, and the Chinese American Student Association

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
6:00 - 7:30 PM
The Marvin Center
Room 309, Third Floor
800 21st Street, NW

Edward McCord
Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies; Professor of History and International Affairs, GWU

Amy Hsieh
PhD Candidate, Political Science, GWU

Yu-Chieh Chou
MA Candidate, Asian Studies, GWU

Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections on January 14 were another sign of the growing success and maturity of Taiwan's democracy. Spirited campaign rallies for both major parties on the evening of January 13 were followed the next day by orderly voting involving 74% of all eligible voters. While President Ma Ying-jeou emerged as the victor, the real winners were the Taiwanese people as they again showed their commitment to the democratic process.

At this student forum, three members of the GW community who were in Taiwan for the elections (Professor Edward McCord and graduate students Amy Hsieh and Yu-chieh Chou) will share their impressions, and then open a debate on the meaning of this election for the future of Taiwan and its relations with both the United States and the People's Republic of China.

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Remembering Refugees: Stories from the 1947 Partition of India from Mumbai, and Beyond

Faculty Lecture Series and Subnational Asia Lecture Series

Audio Listen to the audio

Thursday, February 9, 2012
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Kavita Daiya
Associate Professor of English and Director, MA Program in English, GWU

As many scholars from Hannah Arendt to Zygmunt Bauman have noted, migration is the defining feature of our era, and the refugee is an extreme instance of this. The Partition migrations of India in 1947 are part of this remarkable history of the twentieth century, turning twelve million people into refugees within nine months. How did these refugees narrate their voluntary or forced migration? How did they rebuild their lives, remember their past, and re-imagine their identities in the new Indian nation? What are the cultural and political legacies of the 1947 Partition experience for ideas about citizenship, ethnic nationalism and secularism in postcolonial India? Drawing upon the accounts of refugees and their descendants settled mostly in and around Mumbai, this talk explores the impact of the Partition on the cultural negotiation of citizenship, rights, and secularism in contemporary India.

KAVITA DAIYA is an Associate Professor in the English Department and Director of the MA Program in English at GWU. She is also an affiliated faculty member in the Women's Studies Program. Her first book Violent Belongings: Partition, Gender and National Culture in Postcolonial India (2008) examines the cultural negotiation of ethnic violence and mass migration in South Asian literature and cinema, from the subcontinent and the diaspora. She serves on the Advisory Board of South Asian Review and has published articles in Genders, Alternatives: Global/Local/Political, and Journal of Postcolonial Writing, among others. Dr. Daiya is currently working on her second book about refugees, rights and migration in contemporary India. She is the founder and director of a Digital Humanities video archive project at www.1947Partition.org.

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Asian Film Series: 1911 (China)

Open to GWU students, faculty, and staff only.
Co-sponsored with the Global Resources Center and Global China Connection

Thursday, February 2, 2012
6:00 - 6:30 PM Reception
6:30 - 8:10 PM Film
Gelman Library, Room 207
2130 H Street, 2nd Floor

Synopsis: Jackie Chan's 100th film is an epic war film that details the fall of the Qing Dynasty -- and the violent rebellion that brought it down. With China split into warring factions and the starving citizens beginning to revolt, the ruling Qings are building a powerful army to quash any rebellion. But revolutionary leader Huang Xing (Chan) decides he must act before the Qing army becomes too powerful... and leads an increasingly desperate series of violent uprisings against the powerful Qing.

The film will be shown in Mandarin with English subtitles. A reception with Chinese food will be provided before the screening.

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Opportunities and Disappointments of the "Look North" Policy: Indian Strategies for Central Asia

Faculty Lecture Series and Transnational Asia Lecture Series
Co-sponsored with the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies

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Thursday, February 2, 2012
12:30 - 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

Marlene Laruelle
Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU

Sebastien Peyrouse
Senior Research Scholar, SAIS

The rise of "regioness" is an important aspect of globalization, implying a potential geopolitical pluralism. Like other emerging powers, India calls into question the "eurocentrism" of international relations and suggests that foreign policy is impacted by the cultures of international actors. It projects its normative power and strategic culture into different regions, including Central Asia. With the expected American withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan's growing fragility, and China's growing power in the post-Soviet space, Central Asia-South Asia relations have become key to understanding the future of the Eurasian continent. But so far India has not been able to achieve the objectives that it defined in its "Look North" policy, caught in a dilemma between its would-be cultural capital and very concrete geopolitical disadvantages.

Marlene Laruelle is a research professor of international affairs at IERES.

Sebastien Peyrouse is a senior research scholar at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS. They co-edited the recently published Mapping Central Asia. Indian Perceptions and Strategies (Ashgate, 2011).

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Marigold: The Lost Chance for Peace in Vietnam

Faculty Lecture Series and Subnational Asia Lecture Series
Co-sponsored with the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
12:00 - 12:30 PM Lunch
12:30 - 2:00 Lecture and Discussion
Lindner Commons
1957 E Street, NW, 6th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

James G. Hershberg
Associate Professor of History and International Affairs

Marigold presents the first rigorously documented, in-depth story of one of the Vietnam War's last great mysteries: the secret Polish-Italian peace initiative, codenamed "Marigold," that sought to end the war, or at least to open direct talks between Washington and Hanoi, in 1966. The initiative failed, the war dragged on for another seven years, and this episode sank into history as an unresolved controversy. Antiwar critics claimed Johnson had bungled (or, worse, deliberately sabotaged) a breakthrough by bombing Hanoi on the eve of a planned historic secret US-North Vietnamese encounter in Warsaw. Conversely, LBJ and top aides angrily insisted there was no "missed opportunity," Poland never had authority to arrange direct talks, and Hanoi was not ready to negotiate. Conventional wisdom echoes the view that Washington and Hanoi were so dug in that no real opportunity existed. This book uses new evidence from long hidden communist sources to show that Warsaw was authorized by Hanoi to open direct contacts and that Hanoi had committed to entering talks with Washington. It reveals LBJ's personal role in bombing Hanoi at a pivotal moment, disregarding the pleas of both the Poles and his own senior advisors. The historical implications of missing this opportunity are immense: Washington did not enter negotiations with Hanoi until more than two years and many thousands of lives later, and then in far less auspicious circumstances.

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India as a Global Power: Contending Views from India

Co-sponsored with the Rising Powers Initiative and the Center for a New American Security

View the videos of the entire event HERE

Monday, January 23, 2012
9:00 AM- 4:45 PM
City View Room
1957 E Street, NW, 7th Floor
The Elliott School of International Affairs

9:00-9:30 am- Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:30-9:45 am- Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Audio Listen to the audio

Speakers: Henry R. Nau (GWU) and Nate Fick (CNAS)

9:45-10:45 am- Session I: Indian Views on National Security and Defense

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Chair: Deepa Ollapally (GWU)

  • Mani Shankar Aiyar - Member of Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
  • Bharat Karnad - Research Professor in National Security Studies, Centre for Policy Research
  • Lalit Mansingh - Former Foreign Secretary of India and Ambassador to the United States
  • TN Ninan - Chairman and Chief Editor, Business Standard

10:45-11:00 am- Break

11:00 am-12:00pm- Session II: Indian Views on Economics, International Institutions, and Transnational Issues

Chair: Richard Fontaine (CNAS)

  • Mani Shankar Aiyar - Member of Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
  • Bharat Karnad - Research Professor in National Security Studies, Centre for Policy Research
  • Lalit Mansingh - Former Foreign Secretary of India and Ambassador to the United States
  • TN Ninan - Chairman and Chief Editor, Business Standard

12:15-1:00 pm- Luncheon

1:00- 1:45 pm- Keynote Address: Nirupama Rao, Ambassador of India to the United States

2:00-3:15 pm- Session III: American Views on US-India Relations

Chair: Henry R. Nau (GWU)

  • Doug Bandow - Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
  • Sadanand Dhume - Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
  • George Perkovich - Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Dan Twining - Senior Fellow for Asia, German Marshall Fund of the United States

3:15-3:30 pm- Coffee/Tea Break

3:30-4:30 pm- Session IV: Views from the Obama Administration on the Indo-US Relationship

Moderator: Ed Luce (Financial Times)

  • Robert O. Blake - Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia
  • Robert Scher - Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia

4:30-4:45 pm- Closing Remarks

Speakers: Deepa Ollapally (GWU) and Richard Fontaine (CNAS)

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