Asian Politics & Policy最新文献

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.

Drawing on data from the 2018 China Internet Survey, this article analyzes the channels through which Chinese citizens acquire political information and how such information changes people's political attitude and behavior. It finds that while many people particularly among the younger generations are using social media, an equally large number of people continue to rely on the officially controlled TV news for political and social information. As hoped by those who want to bring down the authoritarian regime through social media, the Internet contributes to questioning the government and developing liberal ideas among its users but fails to promote bottom-up political participation. Interestingly, government-controlled TV programming meets its goals of improving regime support as well as mobilizing mass political participation. The authoritarian government also seems effective in pushing social media into its orbit of political control. These findings suggest that techno-Utopianism exaggerated the role of technology in liberal democratization.

The long-standing Rohingya crisis has become complicated due to geopolitical complexities, and more than a million Rohingya refugees remain stranded in Bangladesh. This situation has had a dramatic impact on Bangladesh. Shortages of international funding exacerbate the situation further, and a regional security threat could be created if the current situation continues unabated. The empirical research undertaken in this paper examines the impact of the Rohingya refugees on the social, economic, and political aspects of Bangladesh from a micro level perspective. This study follows a qualitative research methodology that uses analysis of documents and analytical interpretations of 20 in-depth interviews from Bangladesh. Environmental destruction and the government's dilemma with controlling law and order are apparent consequences of the Rohingya influx. Competition in the labor market, economic hardships, acquiring land, and deforestation create a conflict between the host community and the Rohingya refugee group. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.