Elections, Political Transitions and Foreign Policy in East Asia

Monday, April 14, 2008

Union League of Philadelphia

On April 14, 2008, FPRI sponsored a conference examining the impact of elections and political transitions on foreign policy in East Asia.

Conference Report

Welcoming Remarks

Harvey Sicherman, President, FPRI

Panel 1: The U.S. Presidential Election and U.S. Policy toward East Asia

Paper:

American Asia Policy and the American Election, FPRI E-Notes, 7/2008
Lowell Dittmer, Professor of Political Science, University of California at Berkeley

Commentators:

Harvey Sicherman, President, FPRI
Robert G. Sutter, Visiting Professor of Asian Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Moderator:

Walter A. McDougall, Senior Fellow, FPRI, and Alloy-Ansin Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

Panel 2: China’s Foreign Policy in Hu’s Second Term: Coping with Political Transitions Abroad

Paper:

Chinese Foreign Policy in Hu’s Second Term: Coping with Political Transition Abroad, FPRI E-Notes, 5/10/2008
Suisheng Zhao, Professor and Executive Director, Center for US-China Cooperation, Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver

Commentators:

Richard Baum, Professor of Political Science, UCLA
- China: A Partner or Adversary?, FPRI E-Notes, 5/2008
June Teufel Dreyer, Professor of Political Science, University of Miami at Coral Gables, and Senior Fellow, FPRI

Moderator:

James Kurth, Claude Smith Professor of Political Science, Swarthmore College, and Senior Fellow, FPRI

Keynote Address

Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment for Democracy

Panel 3: Leadership Transition in Japan and Japanese Foreign Policy

Jun Saito, Assistant Professor of Government, Franklin and Marshall College

Commentators:

Jennifer Amyx, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Robert Kane, Assistant Professor of History, Niagara University

Moderator:

Jacques deLisle, Director, FPRI Asia Program, and Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania

Panel 4: Taiwan and South Korea

Audio/Video of Taiwan and South Korea

Papers:

Shelley Rigger, Brown Associate Professor of Political Science, Davidson College, and Senior Fellow, FPRI, on Taiwan’s Presidential and Legislative Elections: Cross-Strait relations and U.S.-Taiwan relations in the post-Chen Shui-bian Era
David Steinberg, Professor of Asian Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, on Elections in the Republic of Korea: Foreign Policy Alternatives Under New Leadership, FPRI E-Notes

Commentators:

Gilbert Rozman, Musgrave Professor of Sociology, Princeton University, and Senior Fellow, FPRI
Jacques deLisle, Director, FPRI Asia Program, and Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania

Moderator: