International Relations

FSI researchers strive to understand how countries relate to one another, and what policies are needed to achieve global stability and prosperity. International relations experts focus on the challenging U.S.-Russian relationship, the alliance between the U.S. and Japan and the limitations of America’s counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

Foreign aid is also examined by scholars trying to understand whether money earmarked for health improvements reaches those who need it most. And FSI’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center has published on the need for strong South Korean leadership in dealing with its northern neighbor.

FSI researchers also look at the citizens who drive international relations, studying the effects of migration and how borders shape people’s lives. Meanwhile FSI students are very much involved in this area, working with the United Nations in Ethiopia to rethink refugee communities.

Trade is also a key component of international relations, with FSI approaching the topic from a slew of angles and states. The economy of trade is rife for study, with an APARC event on the implications of more open trade policies in Japan, and FSI researchers making sense of who would benefit from a free trade zone between the European Union and the United States.

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The format of this presentation is each of the three speakers will have approximately 15 minutes to present their research.  This will be followed by a short period of 5-10 minutes for any questions or comments from the audience.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

 

Hiroki Morishige, Shizuoka Prefectural Government, "Regional Revitalization:  Overcoming Population Decline by Innovation and Work-Style Revolution"

Population decline has been a major issue for Japan.  In the near future, this problem will cause a labor shortage and weaken local economies.  In order to overcome these, economic growth is an important key, and improvement of labor productivity is an essential element.  Labor productivity = GDP / Working hours, so we need to improve GDP by innovation and reduce working hours by work-style reform.  Morishige intends to propose approaches to realize regional revitalization in his hometown of Shizuoka by linking a bridge of innovation between Silicon Valley and Shizuoka.

 

Hiroshi Nishinaka, Ishin Co., Ltd., "How Large Japanese Enterprises Collaborate with Start-ups to Accelerate Innovation Effectively"

Silicon Valley continues to attract attention as the center of tech start-ups and innovation.  A growing proportion of the most valuable companies in the U.S. are tech companies such as Silicon Valley based tech giants -- Apple, Alphabet, and Facebook. Therefore, many large Japanese enterprises have recently been sending people to accelerate internal innovation, utilizing the Silicon Valley ecosystem.  However, many of these Japanese enterprises face common difficulties due to the cultural gap and complicated decision-making processes.  In his research, Nishinaka will share some insights into how large Japanese enterprises collaborate with start-ups to accelerate innovation effectively.  

 

Jeong Ah Ryou, The Yozma Group, "Key Success Elements of Venture Capital Ecosystem in the U.S."

Korea is considered a country with an advanced venture capital industry.  In 2017, the amount of newly arranged venture funds was over $4.4 billion USD and the total investment amount is $2.4 billion USD, each setting the highest record respectively. Although, the total size of venture capital investment is rapidly increasing each year along with the support of policy-based funds, it should be noted that the supply of venture capital to start-ups is still not sufficient compared to Korea's market size.  In her research Ryou investigates the virtuous cycle of the venture capital ecosystem in the U.S., which has mainly been driven by the private sector.  Ryou will present some of her observations of key findings and current issues about the U.S. venture capital ecosystem.  

Hiroki Morishige Shizuoka Prefectural Government
Hiroshi Nishinaka Ishin Co., Ltd.
Jeong Ah Ryou The Yozma Group
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On March 23, SCPKU hosted a lecture and discussion on “President Trump: The Future of US Foreign Policy and America’s Role in the World” featuring Anja Manuel, co-founder and partner of the US-based international consulting firm RiceHadleyGates LLC, lecturer in Stanford’s International Policy Studies Program, and author.  The lively session was moderated by Wang Dong, Peking University Professor in the School of International Studies and Director of the Center for Northeast Asian Strategic Studies.  The event drew an audience of over 100 people representing the Chinese academic community, think tanks, the business and government sectors, and the Stanford alumni community.  

Manuel opened her talk by outlining a number of factors contributing to Trump’s flip-flopping on many foreign policy issues and the unprecedented turnover within his administration during his first year in office.  She asserted that Trump, a business leader and pragmatist, is the first US President not solidly wedded to the post-World War II international order that the US worked to create and uphold.  Furthermore, while he has men on his side providing sound and independent advice, he also has people in his inner circle working against each other.  “Even when things are moving really smoothly, it’s very difficult to have an effective White House policy,” she observed. “So this constant infighting makes it even tougher.” 

Manuel also commented on some of the key trends and challenges facing Trump’s administration including instability in the Middle East, Russia’s aggressive policies, the rise of superpowers China and India, and increased nativism in the US and Europe. She highlighted Russian President Putin’s strategy of sowing seeds of instability in the West to offset weakness at home including the rise of oil prices and decreasing life expectancy.  China and India, she also observed, have already had a profound impact on the world.  Within 12 years, these two countries will house 40% of the world’s middle class compared to the U.S. and Europe who, together, will have only 20%.  “No matter what our president says,” she argued, “in order to prosper, we have to do business together.” At the same time, she encouraged the two countries to step up and take more responsibility for the global order.  Manuel cited China’s leadership role in the United Nations’ humanitarian aid efforts as a prime example. She also touched on the United States’ and Europe’s moves to extreme protectionism because of pressure from core constituencies left behind after a decade of open borders and increased globalization and trade.  The US and Europe, Manuel asserted, need to renew their own systems to reverse what she hopes is a temporary “defensive crouch.”

Finally, Manuel dived deeper into U.S.-China relations, a key focus for her during the last decade.  She sees growing frustrations on both sides and increased finger pointing on sensitive issues including unemployment, trade imbalances, fair market access, and theft of cyber secrets.  “Even American constituents most positive toward US-China relations feel a bit taken advantage of, and these issues are well within the Chinese government’s power to get right,” she argued. In closing, Manuel expressed optimism that the US and China can find a new way to get along and recognize mutual benefits in doing so.  “It makes sense for both great powers to work together on our biggest issues including trade, climate change, and terrorism; don’t let a temporary blip in populism get in the way,” she challenged.

dsc 2209 Anja Manuel and Wang Dong field questions from the audience after Manuel's lecture, March 23, 2018.

Anja Manuel and Wang Dong field questions from the audience after Manuel's lecture, March 23, 2018.
Photo credit:  Stanford University

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Anja Manuel at SCPKU
Anja Manuel lectures at SCPKU, March 23, 2018.
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With the UK on the brink of exiting the European Union, prominent British voices are calling for the country to reconsider its decision to leave. A crucial parliamentary vote later this year will be the key moment, heralding either a last stand in favour of Britain's place in Europe or the unravelling of the country's forty-year membership of the world's most sophisticated supranational entity. In this lecture the former British deputy Prime Minister explores the origins of the UK’s troubled relationship with the EU, explains the current deep divisions in British politics, and charts an alternative course for the UK within a reformed Europe.

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Photo of The Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg

The Rt Hon Sir Nick Clegg
served as Deputy Prime Minister in Britain’s first post war Coalition Government from 2010 to 2015. He was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015 and was a Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam for 12 years.

Prior to his entry into British politics, he served as a leading Member of the European Parliament on trade and industry affairs and as an international trade negotiator in the European Commission dealing with the accession of China and Russia into the World Trade Organization.

As Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Nick occupied the second highest office in the country at a time when the United Kingdom was recovering from a deep recession following the banking crisis of 2008, and hugely controversial decisions were needed to restore stability to the public finances. During that time, he oversaw referenda on electoral reform and Scottish independence, and extensive reforms to the education, health and pensions systems. He was particularly associated with landmark changes to the funding of schools, early years’ education and the treatment of mental health within the NHS. His book, ‘Politics: Between the Extremes’, is a reflection on his time in Government and the place of liberalism in the current political landscape.

Sir Nick is one of the most high-profile pro-European voices in British politics, and has played an influential role in the debate leading up to and since the EU referendum in June 2016. His insight into the most senior levels of UK government, combined with an integral understanding and experience of European politics, contacts at the highest levels of government across the EU, and fluency in five European languages, mean that his views and analysis on the current Government’s Brexit negotiations continue to be in high demand. He published his second best-selling book - ‘How to Stop Brexit - and Make Britain Great Again’ - in October 2017.

As well as leading his small think tank, Open Reason, Sir Nick is a Global Commissioner for the Global Commission on Drugs Policy, Chairman of the Social Mobility Foundation and a Visiting Professor in Practice at the LSE’s School of Public Policy. He remains an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and center ground politics, of radical measures to boost social mobility, and of an internationalist approach to world affairs. He received a knighthood in the 2018 New Years Honours list, for his political and public service.

Koret-Taube Conference Center
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building
366 Galvez Street

Sir Nick Clegg Former Deputy Prime Minister, United Kingdom speaker
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American Universities in China: Lessons from Japan discusses the aspirations and operations of American universities in China through the lens of previous American universities’ expansion efforts in Japan. This talk will provide an explanation of the factors that contributed to the rise and decline of American universities in Japan in order to examine and predict the sustainability of American universities in China today. Through a review of historical documents, interviews with stakeholders in Japan and China, and an analysis of the cultural contexts of both the Japanese and Chinese higher education systems and the position of American universities within these environments, this book/talk seeks to address the potential success or failure of the American university abroad.
 
Lunch will be served. Presented in collaboration with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia.

Goldman Conference Room

Encina Hall, 4th Floor 

616 Serra Street, Stanford, CA 94305

Dennis T. Yang Regional English Language Officer U.S. Department of State
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"Moon's proposal of a trilateral summit between the two Koreas and the United States, undermining China's influence, turned out to be nothing more than a pipe dream," said researchers at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center in a recently published article. "The series of summits that began with Kim's visit to Beijing should lead to Four Party Talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, and China."

The full article in The Diplomat is available here.

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President Moon of South Korea meeting at Cheong Wa Dae with Mr. Kim Yong-nam of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea
Cheong Wa Dae
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Please note the venue change to the Bechtel Conference Center

Encina Hall, 1st floor. We have reached venue capacity. RSVPs are closed.

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times covering President Donald J. Trump. He previously covered the presidencies of Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Mr. Baker joined The Times in 2008 after 20 years at The Washington Post. He began writing about Mr. Obama at the inception of his administration, through health care and economic debates, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the re-election campaign and decisions over war and peace in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. During his first tour at the White House, Mr. Baker was a co-author of the original story breaking the Monica Lewinsky scandal and served as The Post’s lead writer on the impeachment battle. During his next White House assignment, he covered the travails of Mr. Bush’s second term, from the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina to Supreme Court nomination fights and the economy.

In between stints at the White House, Mr. Baker and his wife, Susan Glasser, spent four years as Moscow bureau chiefs, chronicling the rise of Vladimir V. Putin, the rollback of Russian democracy, the second Chechen war and the terrorist attacks on a theater in Moscow and a school in Beslan. Mr. Baker also covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was the first American newspaper journalist to report from rebel-held northern Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, and he spent the next eight months covering the overthrow of the Taliban and the emergence of a new government. He later spent six months in the Middle East, reporting from inside Saddam Hussein's Iraq and around the region before embedding with the United States Marines as they drove toward Baghdad.

Baker is the author of four books, most recently “Obama: The Call of History,” an illustrated history of the 44th president.

A native of the Washington area, Mr. Baker attended Oberlin College.


The Payne Lectureship is named for Frank E. Payne and Arthur W. Payne, brothers who gained an appreciation for global problems through their international business operations. Their descendants endowed the annual lecture series at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies in order to raise public understanding of the complex policy issues facing the global community today and to increase support for informed international cooperation.

The Payne Distinguished Lecturer is chosen for his or her international reputation as a leader, with an emphasis on visionary thinking; a broad, practical grasp of a given field; and the capacity to clearly articulate an important perspective on the global community and its challenges.

Peter Baker Chief White House Correspondent, The New York Times
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Hate propaganda has been a feature of politics in India, Indonesia, and other Asian democracies long before the recent surge in interest in so-called “fake news” and intolerant populism in the West. This presentation dissects the political strategy of “hate spin,” which includes not only the use of hate speech or incitement, but also the creative manufacture of righteous indignation and popular mobilization framed as responses to victimhood. Examples include the “love jihad” conspiracy theory in India and blasphemy allegations in Indonesia, which have been used to devastating effect by religious nationalists. Existing religious-offense laws have backfired, while incitement laws, though necessary, are systemically incapable of dealing with hate propagandists’ highly sophisticated and distributed disinformation campaigns.  The speaker's book on this topic, Hate Spin, will be available for sale at his talk.

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Cherian George is a professor of media studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. He is the author of Hate Spin: The Manufacture of Religious Offense and its Threat to Democracy (2016), which was named on Publishers Weekly’s list of the 100 best books of 2016. Prof. George’s PhD is from Stanford University’s Department of Communication (2003). He was previously a journalist with The Straits Times in his native Singapore. His latest book on Singapore is the self-published Singapore, Incomplete: Reflections on a First World Nation’s Arrested Political Development (2017).

Cherian George Professor of Media Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
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No longer "estranged democracies," relations between the United States and India have been on a steady upward trajectory in recent years, though at times have fallen short of the lofty expectations set by others.  As we look ahead, the significance of a true U.S.-India security and economic partnership is just now coming into focus, and it is clear the potential is enormous.  Indeed, the positive ripple effects of a convergence between the world's two largest democracies would reverberate across Asia.  This opportunity, however, comes amid uncertain times in Asia.  China's march for primacy continues. Dangers from nuclear proliferation and rogue regimes loom large. The fractionalization of states and humanitarian crises are all too common.  We must then ask – what role can the United States and India play together to promote peace and stability, uphold and reinforce the post-World War II order, and shape and build new institutions across Asia and beyond? These are some of the questions Ambassador Verma will tackle in his remarks, while also providing historical context on the issues that have limited U.S.-India ties to-date. He will also provide insight on the future trajectory of the relationship, looking at how the United States and India -- two non-allies -- can work together to promote peace, economic growth, and democratic values during these uncertain times.

 

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Richard Verma is Vice Chairman and Partner at The Asia Group.  He previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017, where he led one of the largest U.S. diplomatic missions and championed historic progress in bilateral cooperation on defense, trade, and clean energy. Ambassador Verma also oversaw an unprecedented nine meetings between President Obama and Prime Minister Modi – leading to over 100 new initiatives and more than 40 government-to-government dialogues.

Ambassador Verma was previously the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, and also served for many years as the Senior National Security Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader.  He was a member of the WMD and Terrorism Commission and a co-author of their landmark report, “World at Risk.” He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and his military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

In addition to his role at The Asia Group, Ambassador Verma is a Centennial Fellow at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, and he co-chairs the Center for American Progress’ U.S.-India Task Force.  Ambassador Verma is the recipient of the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award, the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, and was ranked by India Abroad as one of the 50 most influential Indian Americans. He holds degrees from the Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), American University’s Washington College of Law (JD), and Lehigh University (BS).

This colloquia is co-sponsored with the Stanford Center for South Asia

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Richard Verma Vice Chair and Partner, The Asia Group, Former U.S. Ambassador to India (2014-2017)
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For directions to the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center, please click here.


The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) commenced operations on January 16, 2016. The Bank has approved 24 projects totaling US$4.26 billion to date, and its approved membership totals 84 with 64 members having completed all membership requirements and 20 prospective members in the process of finalizing their membership.
 
President Jin Liqun will give his assessment of the bank’s first two years – its accomplishments and challenges – and the future direction of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. What is the potential impact of AIIB’s financing for regional infrastructure, trade connectivity and economic relations? How can multilateral institutions and various stakeholders best address the US$26 trillion infrastructure gap (from 2016 to 2030) in Asia? How is the AIIB distinguishing itself from other multilateral development banks like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank? What is the AIIB’s commitment and contributions toward global economic governance and best international practices?


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Jin Liqun
Jin Liqun is the inaugural President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Before being elected as the Bank’s first president, he served as Secretary-General of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat (MIS) tasked with establishing AIIB. Immediately prior to assuming the role of Secretary-General of the MIS, he was Chair of China International Capital Corporation Limited, China’s first joint-venture investment bank. From 2008 to 2013, he served as Chair of the Supervisory Board, China Investment Corporation. From 2009 to 2012, he served as Deputy Chair then subsequently as Chair of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. From 2003 to 2008, Jin was Vice President, and then Ranking Vice President, of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in charge of programs for South, Central and West Asia and private sector operations. He joined the Ministry of Finance in 1980, where he served as Director General and Assistant Minister before becoming Vice Minister in 1998. He was also a Member of the State Monetary Policy Committee. Earlier in his career, he served as Alternate Executive Director for China at the World Bank and at the Global Environment Facility as well as Alternate Governor for China at ADB. Jin holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Beijing Institute of Foreign Languages (now Beijing Foreign Studies University). He was also a Hubert Humphrey Fellow in the Economics Graduate Program at Boston University from 1987 to 1988. Jin is a national of the People’s Republic of China.


 

Mackenzie Room

Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Building, 3rd Floor

475 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305

Jin Liqun <i>President and Chair, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank</i>
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Under the guidance of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program, thirteen members of Congress convened at Stanford University from March 2-5 to discuss policy options regarding the current North Korea crisis. The representatives deliberated with scholars and practitioners to acquire a better understanding of North Korea and its ruling regime, review the regional actors and their interests, assess the range of potential solutions to the crisis, and determine the role of Congress on this issue.

A report summarizing the program’s dialogue is now available for download. In addition to providing non-attributed comments from the proceedings, the document also includes the itinerary for the three days, the names of participants, as well as a collection of relevant publications.

The Aspen Institute Congressional Program was established in 1983 by former U.S. Senator Dick Clark. The program is for members of the United States Congress, and is both nongovernmental and nonpartisan in design. The program gives senators and representatives the opportunity to delve into complex and critical public policy issues with internationally recognized experts. Lawmakers are given the opportunity to explore policy alternatives in off-the-record settings, while simultaneously building relationships crucial to finding solutions.

 

 

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