Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is pleased to unveil the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL), an interdisciplinary initiative committed to producing evidence-based, actionable policy research to facilitate structural reform and propel Asia toward a future defined by growth, maturity, and innovation. Based at APARC and led by sociologist Gi-Wook Shin, the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, SNAPL seeks to tackle pressing social, cultural, economic, and political challenges facing Asian countries, including aging populations, escalating inequality, brain drain, environmental threats, and institutional deficiencies in areas like the rule of law and cultural intolerance.

"SNAPL represents a significant milestone in our commitment to building research networks that engage academics, policymakers, business leaders, and civil society organizations interested in regional and global perspectives on contemporary Asia," said Shin, who is also the director of APARC and the Korea Program within APARC. “Through an interdisciplinary, solution-oriented, and comparative lens, we aim to set a research and policy agenda to help Asian nations create their unique roadmaps to becoming and remaining innovation-driven economics at the center of 21st-century dynamism and growth. At the same time, we believe that research on Asia could uncover important implications and lessons for the United States and European countries as they grapple with their own social, cultural, economic, and political challenges.”

Combining theoretical and field studies, SNAPL researchers will initially examine issues such as the prospects for reform of educational institutions, immigration policy, and cultural attitudes in Asia; paths to combating recent democratic declines; and U.S.-Asia relations. In addition to Shin, the lab director and principal investigator, the SNAPL inaugural research team includes Research Scholar Xinru Ma, Postdoctoral Fellows Gidong Kim and Junki Nakahara, Research Associates Haley Gordon and Irene Kyoung, and a cohort of Stanford undergraduate and graduate students serving as research assistants. The lab plans to continue offering fellowship and training opportunities to scholars and students.

“SNAPL’s education mission is to nurture the next generation of researchers, including students and visiting scholars, and we firmly believe that the laboratory model, proven successful in the sciences — with its mentorship and hands-on engagement — holds immense potential for nurturing talent in the social sciences,” notes Shin. “I look forward to our team’s contributions to U.S.-Asia dialogue and Asia’s security and prosperity, and I am grateful to our supporters for providing foundational funding for the lab.”

On August 29-30, 2023, SNAPL will co-host its inaugural event, the Sustainable Democracy Roundtable, jointly with the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies and APARC's Korea Program. The two-day event will convene scholars and students from the United States and South Korea to present solutions that address global democratic backsliding, promote social progress, and advance long-term development.

For more information about SNAPL, visit the lab’s website at aparc.stanford.edu/snapl.

The Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is delighted to share that Center Fellow Oriana Skylar Mastro has been named an Air Force Individual Reservist of the Year 2022 in recognition of her outstanding scholarship and defense analysis in the Field Grade Officer (FGO) category. Mastro, whose career combines academic research and military service, is also a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and continues to serve in the United States Air Force Reserve, for which she works as a strategic planner at INDOPACOM.

Awarded by the Air Force Headquarters Readiness and Integration Organization (HQ RIO), the nomination recognizes Mastro’s exemplary performance and contributions to operational imperatives across the Department of Air Force by applying her globally recognized expertise as a China scholar and foreign defense analyst to bolster US national defense. Her analysis and advocacy impacted operational changes, updated national strategic policy relevant to the Indo-Pacific region, and increased strategic and combat readiness at the Wing, Major Command, Combatant Command, Service, and Department of Defense levels.

HQ RIO notes that “Mastro also led the national discussion on the U.S.-China relationship by publishing six peer-reviewed articles and book chapters; 14 commentaries in publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal; recorded 40 radio spots and podcasts; conducted nearly 40 government, academic, and private sector speaking engagements and was quoted in more than 40 news pieces.”

Mastro has received numerous awards for her military service and contributions to U.S. strategy in Asia, including the 2020 and 2018 Meritorious Service Medal, the 2017 Air Force recognition Ribbon, and the 2016 Individual Reservist of the Year Award.

Her current research projects focus on the U.S.-China great power competition, deterrence in the Taiwan Strait, China’s maritime ambitions, and the China-Russia military relationship. She holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University.

As Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gender equality is an essential foundation for a prosperous and sustainable world and a core theme that drives the United Nations-adopted 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The world, however, is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030, as the latest Sustainable Development Goals Report indicates. To accelerate progress, we must “recognize that achieving gender equality is not a distant dream but a tangible goal that requires our collective efforts,” said APARC Director Gi-Wook Shin at the opening of the Trans-Altai Sustainability Dialogue (TASD).

Held from June 12-14, 2023 at the State Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the TASD gathered government officials, scholars, and practitioners from across the United States, Asia, and the Altai region to expedite action on gender equality and sustainable development. The event, organized by the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia along with APARC, the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future, and Ewha Womans University as co-hosts, is a sub-regional convening of the annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue, a joint effort of APARC and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation.

APARC initiated the Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue to create a platform for spurring meaningful discussions, research collaborations, and policy partnerships between experts from the United States and Asia to accelerate progress on realizing the SDGs. The TASD built upon the momentum and enthusiasm generated at the inaugural 2022 Dialogue and was held with an eye on the future, as APARC and its partners are preparing for the second annual Dialogue that will be held this coming September, again in Seoul, South Korea.

The TASD provided an opportunity for a new network of partners to explore the intersection of gender equality and economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection — the three core elements of the 2030 Agenda. TASD participants examined issues including policy solutions for promoting women's leadership; gender equality in the labor market and education; gender-based violence and human rights in Mongolia and the region; and Altai studies. Throughout the event, participants proposed actionable strategies to advance progress in gender equality and women empowerment. 

Shin lauded Mongolia’s progress in advancing SDG5, noting that its Parliament's “commitment to becoming a gender-sensitive and human rights-focused institution is genuinely inspiring.” He challenged participants to drive tangible action and address crucial questions, such as: “How can we effectively and holistically measure and evaluate women's and girls’ empowerment? Which interventions work at different levels and contexts? And how can we effectively implement the outcomes of this Dialogue?”

Chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, Gombojav Zandanshatar, a driving force behind the TASD, emphasized the necessity of achieving women’s empowerment. “Men alone cannot solve the global challenges facing the world,” he said. “A new era is dawning where women's voices are becoming more important.” Chairman Zandanshatar, a long-time friend of APARC and the Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, is a former visiting scholar at the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). While at CDDRL, Mr. Zandanshatar connected with the Deliberative Democracy Lab and ardently supported its Deliberative Polling® method. In 2017, Mongolia became the first country to legislate Deliberative Polling for constitutional amendments.

On the first day of the TASD plenary, keynote speakers and panelists discussed barriers to gender equality and policies to facilitate a more rapid shift toward empowering all women and girls. Speakers included, among others, Ban Ki-moon, the eighth secretary-general of the UN and the chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future, Kim Youngjoo, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, and Khurelbaatar Bulgantuya, member of the State Great Hural of Mongolia,  chair of the Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development, and minister for Labour and Social Protection.

In addition to Shin, the Stanford delegation to the TASD included APARC deputy director and Japan Program director Kiyoteru Tsutsui, associate professor of education Christine Min Wotipka, APARC associate director for program and policy Cheryll Alipio, APARC executive assistant Kristen Lee, and APARC incoming predoctoral fellow Marie Wako, a JSD candidate at Stanford Law School.

Wotipka and Ankhbayar Begz, coordinator for the Gender Equality Research Program at the Mitchell Foundation for Arts and Sciences and a former visiting scholar at APARC, presented their research on the gender equality index for universities, a tool to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of gender equality. They discussed why gender equality at universities is especially important, as youth gather and “obtain proper knowledge about gender equality before entering the job market and society, where they will spread the right ideology about gender equality.”

Highlighting the role of youth in driving action to achieve the SDGs, the TASD included young student leaders from Stanford University and Ewha Womans University, who shared their work on women’s agency, voice, and victimization in South Korea’s digital realm, Sri Lanka’s domestic and care labor regime, and Japan’s courtrooms. At the student panel, Marie Wako presented her findings on the effects of female judges in Japanese criminal cases. The impact of a judge’s gender, she said, is most notable in sentencing outcomes in which she found that sentencing for sexual offenses were heavier when female judges are part of the panel of three judges.

To further ties among the TASD participants and showcase sustainable development and tourism initiatives through the promotion and conservation of natural and cultural heritage, the second day of the official event included a visit to Gorkhi Terelj National Park for an introduction to nomadic culture and tradition with folk songs and dances as well as a mini Naadam festival, featuring Mongolian wrestling, horse racing, and archery.  “Let these experiences remind us of the interconnectedness of our planet, the importance of preserving our cultural diversity, and the urgency to act in the face of global challenges,” said Shin at the closing ceremony.

The complete TASD livestream is available via the Mongolian Parliament’s Facebook channel. Additional conference coverage: 

• Mongolian Parliament’s website: here and here
• Mongolian Parliament’s YouTube channel: here and here
• UNDP
• IPU

Stay tuned for news about the second annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue, to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on September 13-14, 2023, focusing on energy security — Sustainable Development Goal 7.

APARC and Korea Program Director Gi-Wook Shin recently joined the Japan Economic Foundation (JEF) to discuss his research project "Talent Flows, Brain Hubs, and Socioeconomic Development in Asia." The conversation was published in the May/June 2023 issue of the Japan SPOTLIGHT, the online journal of JEF.

📥 Download a PDF version of this interview.

JS: How do you see the different situations vis-à-vis demography among Asia-Pacific nations? Some countries like Japan are suffering from depopulation while some are seeing an increase in population. How do you assess the political and economic implications?

Shin: As you mentioned, Japan and South Korea are going through very serious demographic crises with low birth rates, aging populations, and declines in the working-age population. On the other hand, India and many countries in Southeast Asia have very young populations, and we might expect an increase in talent mobility within the Asia-Pacific region. In the past, a lot of Chinese, Indian, and Korean students came to the United States and Europe. But now more people are going to Japan and South Korea. Their level of education has improved; the quality of universities in advanced Asian countries is quite good. We should think about the policy implications of the increase in regional talent mobility in the Asia-Pacific region.

JS: For example, India and Japan are referred to as complementary because India has lots of young people and Japan does not. Would you say that if Japan expanded opportunities for immigrants, it would make the relationship between Japan and India more complementary? Of course, India-Japan relations can be discussed in the context of skilled immigrants but there is still some disagreement on the issue of immigration of unskilled immigrants.

Shin: In the past, Japan and South Korea accepted largely unskilled labor from China and Southeast Asia. This unskilled migration will continue, but at the same time, Japan and South Korea need to accept more skilled migrants. India can be a good source. It is encouraging to see more foreign students who come to Japan, for example, for college and then stay to work. However, most foreigners leave after a few years of work. If you look at Australia, in contrast, many international students go there for college, stay, and eventually naturalize as Australian citizens. One may point out that Australia is very different from Japan or South Korea, which I partially agree with. However, until the 1970s, Australia was also promoting racial homogeneity. Under their “White Australia” policy, they were accepting only white Europeans, but couldn’t sustain the economy with the low population growth. They had to open up, promoting multiculturalism. This has led to an increase in immigrants from Asia, such as from China and India. Going back to your question, Japan and India can be complementary to each other: one needs talent, the other has a strong supply of IT workers.

JS: As you have just explained, the economic implications of this depopulation could cause us a shrinking economy. We should perhaps encourage the flow of talent to supplement the stagnant economy with immigrants – but what do you think about the political implications of this declining population in terms of security concerns?

Shin: Let me give you an example from South Korea. This is a big issue for South Korea because it maintains a large military. On the one hand, there is no way to maintain the military’s current size or level due to a shrinking population but on the other hand, I don’t think you can bring immigrants into the military. It’s not like bringing immigrants into a company. Another political implication is the change in the voting landscape as the proportion of older people or senior citizens is really increasing. They tend to be more conservative, in favor of conservative parties. This may not be an issue for Japan because the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) gets a lot of support from senior citizens anyway, but in South Korea and other countries where there is a regular change of power, this has potentially huge political implications.

JS: Looking at the possible merits of depopulation, some economists would say that of course depopulation has demerits, but it may still have some merits because individual wealth may increase. What is your perspective on this notion?

Shin: Some jobs can be replaced by robots or AI, and then not only may we not need so many people, but there may be less competition for jobs. Still, I think for any country to maintain the scale of its economy you must maintain a certain level of population. It is not only about production but also consumption. If you have a declining population then consumption will decline in tandem, which will negatively impact the economy. Japan has a fairly large population and the market may be good enough to be self-sufficient for now. But should the population become half of what it is today, then it probably may not be able to sustain the current scale of the economy. While overall you don’t want too many people, South Korea and Japan should be concerned about their declining populations.

To continue reading, download the complete interview >