[Event Report] The 25th Global Prominence Seminar: “Evolving Shadows: Inside Japan‘s Strategic Shift and the Policy-Making Dynamics Defining the Future of the Region”

[Event Report] The 25th Gobla Prominence Seminar "Evolving Shadows: Inside Japan's Strategic Shift and the Policy-Making Dynamics Defining the Future of the Region"   Title: Evolving Shadows: Inside Japan's Strategic Shift and the Policy-Making Dynamics Defining the Future of the Region Date: 2024. 03. 13. (Wednesday) 12:30 - 14:00 Place: SNU GSIS International Conference Hall (140-2Bldg. 4F) Presenter: Sahashi Ryo (Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo) Moderator: Professor Seong-Ho Sheen (GSIS SNU) Language: English    The Seoul National University Institute of International Affairs held the “25th Global Prominence Seminar” on March 13, 2024 in the International Conference Hall (Bldg. 140-2, Room 401). Director of the Institute of International Affairs Seong-Ho Sheen moderated the seminar, and University of Tokyo Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia Professor Sahashi Ryo gave a presentation entitled the “Evolving Shadows: Inside Japan’s Strategic Shift and the Policy-Making Dynamics Defining the Future of the Region.” Professor Ryo explained the shifting regional security architecture in East Asia and outlined how the San Francisco System that emerged in the wake of the Pacific War is transitioning into a new Indo-Pacific System in which minilateralism is replacing bilateral alliances and shared political values are no longer being emphasized. Professor Ryo also provided a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Japanese foreign policy and made an argument for why cooperation is needed between Japan and South Korea.  

2024-05-03

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[Event Report] The 24th Global Prominence Seminar: “EU’s Geopolitical Challenges: Central European Outlook”

The Seoul National University Institute of International Affairs held the “24th Global Prominence Seminar” on November 29, 2023 in the International Conference Hall (Bldg. 140-2, Room 401). Director of the Institute of International Affairs Seong-Ho Sheen moderated the seminar, and Tomáš Petříček, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, gave a presentation entitled the “EU’s Geopolitical Challenges: Central European Outlook.” Many students and researchers attended the seminar. Minister Petříček reviewed the new geopolitical realities, including the Covid-19 pandemic, US-China competition, the Russia war of aggression against Ukraine, and others, facing the European Union, and argued that these recent phenomena are challenging the EU’s traditional self-image of preferencing soft power over hard power and relying on interdependencies to prevent conflict. Minister Petříček also answered a variety of questions from the floor on domestic politics throughout Europe.  

2024-01-26

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[Event Report] Accountability for International Crimes: A Judge’s Perspective

The Seoul National University Institute of International Affairs held the “23rd Global Prominence Seminar” on November 21, 2023 in the International Conference Hall (Bldg. 140-2, Room 401). Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies Professor Hyeyoung Lee moderated the seminar, and Judge Chang-ho Chung of the International Criminal Court gave a talk titled “Accountability for International Crimes: A Judge’s Perspective”. Many students and researchers attended the seminar. Judge Chung provided an in-depth view into the innerworkings of the International Criminal Court (ICC). After giving an introduction of the organization, along with its processes and members, he shared some landmark cases that highlight the role of the ICC within the international community. He entertained questions from the floor and illuminated the issue of international justice in the context of recent international affairs.

2024-01-26

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[Event Report] The 22nd Global Prominence Seminar: “Japan's Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific”

  The Seoul National University Institute of International Affairs held the “22nd Global Prominence Seminar” on November 16, 2023 in the Global Leaders Room (Bldg. 140, Room 201). Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies Professor Seong-ho Sheen moderated the seminar, and Director Mireya Solís of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies in the Brookings Institute gave a book talk on her book titled “Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific”. Many students and researchers attended the seminar. Director Solís asks the question “Why has Japan emerged from the ‘lost decades’ unscathed from the populist wave and a far more consequential actor in the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific? In answering this question, she provides a sweeping look at Japan’s domestic economic and political evolution, its economic statecraft, and the array of geopolitical challenges that have triggered a gradual but substantial shift in the country’s security profile. The presented tells the story of Japan’s reinvention as a network power to overcome the harsh realities of diminishing relative capabilities.

2024-01-26

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[Event Report] The 21st Global Prominence Seminar: “New Zealand’s Indo-Pacific Challenge”

  The Seoul National University Institute of International Affairs held the “21st Global Prominence Seminar” on September 19, 2023 in the Global Leaders Room (Bldg. 140, Room 201). Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies Professor Seong-ho Sheen moderated the seminar, and Victoria University of Wellington Emeritus Professor Roberto Rabel gave a presentation entitled “New Zealand’s Indo-Pacific Challenge”. Many students and researchers attended the seminar. Professor Rabel discussed how until recently, New Zealand was well served by its ‘liberal bet’ that the region will continue to enjoy peace and prosperity, fuelled economically by Chinese growth, protected militarily by American power and connected politically through ASEAN-centred mechanisms for regional dialogue. He goes on to argue that the country’s ‘liberal bet’, however, has been challenged by the reconceptualising of the region, which has driven an incremental adaptation of its Asia-Pacific strategy to reflect a more diffused, complex and contested Indo-Pacific context.

2024-01-26

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