Asian Politics & Policy最新文献

The rise of China has accelerated Renminbi (RMB) internationalization. While there seems to be global support for RMB internationalization, there is a gap in understanding how developing nations, facing potential domestic skepticism, rationalize and articulate their support. This article discusses narratives that states use to legitimize their support for RMB internationalization. Using the case of Indonesia, this article examines the country's policy responses to China's RMB internationalization strategy. It uncovers that Indonesia frames its engagement with RMB internationalization not merely as an endorsement of China's global ambitions but as a strategic move to hedge against US dollar vulnerability and to foster broader Asian regional integration, particularly in terms of currency cooperation. This article enriches the existing literature, providing a nuanced perspective on how states navigate the complexities of international economic diplomacy, crafting narratives that align with their strategic interests and policy objectives in the evolving landscape of global currency politics.

While traditional media literacy (TML) facilitates outdated patterns of digital media response, new media literacy (NML) frames the adaptation of literacy to the ever-dynamic trend of media development. It then raises the cruciality of integrating NML concepts into national educational frameworks. The study aims to explore the case of Myanmar and the Philippines' NML capacity levels. Both countries have a digital media environment enveloped by information distortions mainly rooted in tumultuous political climates. The study leans to notions of educational crises in both countries as seen in terms of (1) sociopolitical contexts that lead to the irresponsive initiatives to improve individual criticality, (2) lack of emphasis on NML response, and (3) the implication of state and individual approaches against false information. Finally, the study presents a multifaceted response to educational paradigms derived from interpretive social-scientific approaches in seeing the critical issues concerning digital media use.

The article discusses the evolution of Iraq-South Korea relations since the late 1970s. It relies on Iraq's and South Korea's governmental platforms, local media outlets, and databases such as the Korea Statistical Information Service and the Observatory of Economic Complexity. This article argues that while in the 1970s both countries had economic rapport, bilateral economic diplomacy between both countries began in the 1980s, faced challenges in the 1990s and was revived by 2003. In the 1970s, the relationship was focused on trade and infrastructure. By the 1980s, official diplomatic and bilateral relations took shape, resulting in increased trade and South Korea energy ventures in Iraq. By the 1990s relations were dormant due to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the UN sanctions. In 2003, the diplomatic relationship was revived and further enhanced. These include energy, trade, infrastructure, and South Korea's humanitarian, military, and industrial assistance to Iraq. The post-2003 phase shows the expansion of ties between both countries including the Kurdistan Regional Government. Bilateral economic diplomacy between South Korea and Iraq has not been without political and security challenges, particularly concerning Iraq's political stability.

This article contributes a new layer to the existing analyses of Duterte's foreign policy by arguing that he epitomized a transactionalist approach to Philippine foreign policy. This approach favored bilateral to multilateral relations, focused on short-term wins rather than long-term foresight, adhered to a zero-sum worldview, rejected value-based policymaking, and did not follow a grand strategy. Most of these qualities have been apparent in Duterte's relationship with China, Russia, and the United States but became even more prominent during the COVID-19 crisis. The analysis revealed that Duterte's transactionalist foreign policy rhymed with his domestic politics, and his obsession with winning now resulted in contradictions in his foreign policy, indicating a lack of a grand strategy that informed his decision-making. This article contributes a real-world case of a transactionalist foreign policy while considering whether it would persist in future policymaking in the Philippines.

This article undertakes a comparative analysis of two cases, Hong Kong and South Korea, each characterized by distinct levels of political and civil liberties to elucidate how the institutionalization of national security operates in shaping the repertoires of popular political actions and the repressive conduct of state actors. In both cases, the legal frameworks serve to curtail popular political action, both online and offline, often through discretionary applications of national security norms, resulting in ambiguity. They bestow legitimacy upon state agencies to engage in protest policing, surveillance, and the suppression of individuals or organizations in the name of upholding national security. In contrast, the national security laws in Hong Kong and South Korea, influenced by varying interpretations and applications of perceived threats to national security, result in differences in the extent and degree of contentious political actions and state repression.

This article compares the authoritarian regimes of early South Korea and Albania, identifying historical anecdotes of state authoritarianism that resulted in state-led crimes and human rights violations. It identifies the historical connections between the establishment and maintenance of authoritarian regimes, as well as the consequences of such meticulous upkeep, by comparing and contrasting the efforts made in dealing with the past and lustration, as well as their significance for peace and stability. We compare the South Korean and Albanian cases from these perspectives to find similarities and differences. By comparing two different countries with similar authoritarian pasts, this article analyzes the efforts of both countries towards transitional justice, and unified rhetoric across the political spectrum for lustration and punishment of past crimes, and discovered that when it comes to practice, these laws tend to be unilateral and were strongly challenged in courts and used as political tools against ideological opponents.

In South Korea, conservatism and progressivism were formed under major political and socioeconomic challenges since the establishment of the country in 1948. Moreover, the intensifying ideological polarization between conservatives and progressives since 2010 is discussed. Considering that these ideological terms were developed while overcoming national challenges, it is highly likely that deepening ideological polarization is related to the new challenge of economic inequality, which became rampant at the time. This article argues that the Korean government's measures to address inequality have affected ideological polarization. Specifically, the development of conservatism and progressivism in the Korean context are discussed and conservative governments' market-oriented policies and progressive governments' policies to address inequality are examined. Conservatism expanded during this process while progressivism strengthened, which was critical to the deepening of ideological polarization. Finally, the implications of this study are discussed.