Stanford University

North Korea and Myanmar: Divergent Paths

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The stories of North Korea and Myanmar (Burma) are two of Asia’s most difficult. For decades they were infamous as the region’s most militarized and repressed, self-isolated and under sanctions by the international community while, from Singapore to Japan, the rest of Asia saw historic wealth creation. Andray Abrahamian, author of the recent book North Korea and Myanmar: Divergent Paths (McFarland, 2018), examines and compares the recent histories of North Korea and Myanmar, asking how both became pariahs and why Myanmar has been able to find a path out of isolation while North Korea has not. 

Abrahamian finds that both countries were faced with severe security threats following decolonization. Myanmar was able to largely take care of its main threats in the 1990s and 2000s, allowing it the space to address the reasons for its pariah status. North Korea's response to its security threat has been to develop nuclear weapons, which in turn perpetuates and exacerbates its isolation and pariah status. In addition, Pyongyang has developed a state ideology and a coercive apparatus unmatched by Myanmar, insulating its decision makers from political pressures and issues of legitimacy to a greater degree.

Dr. Andray Abrahamian is currently the 2018-19 Koret Fellow in Korea Program at Stanford. He is a member of the US National Committee on North Korea and an Adjunct Fellow at Pacific Forum and at Griffith University. Working for a non-profit, Choson Exchange, has taken him to the DPRK nearly 30 times; he has also lived in Myanmar.

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Andray Abrahamian

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Koret Fellow, 2018-19
andray_abrahamian.jpg Ph.D.
Andray Abrahamian was the 2018-19 Koret Fellow at Stanford University. He is also an Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University, Sydney and an Adjunct Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute. He is an advisor to Choson Exchange, a non-profit that trains North Koreans in economic policy and entrepreneurship. He was previously Executive Director and Research Director for Choson Exchange. That work, along with supporting sporting exchanges and a TB project, has taken him to the DPRK nearly 30 times. He has also lived in Myanmar, where he taught at Yangon University and consulted for a risk management company. He has conducted research comparing the two countries, resulting in the publication of "North Korea and Myanmar: Divergent Paths" (McFarland, 2018). Andray has published extensively and offers expert commentary on Korea and Myanmar, including for US News, Reuters, the New York Times, Washington Post, Lowy Interpreter and 38 North.  He has a PhD in International Relations from the University of Ulsan, South Korea and an M.A. from the University of Sussex where he studied media discourse on North Korea and the U.S.-ROK alliance, respectively. Andray speaks Korean, sometimes with a Pyongyang accent.
<i>2018-19 Koret Fellow, APARC, Stanford University</i>
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Korean Studies Colloquium Series

Only a drastic measure towards denuclearization can resolve the current stalemate with North Korea

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In a recent interview with Korea Times, Gi-Wook Shin, director of APARC, said "only a drastic measure [by North Korea] can resolve the current stalemate." Shin also urged Moon administration to rework its North Korea policy.

Read the full interview in Korean language here.

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KF-APARC Korea Program Postdoctoral Fellowship

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The Korea Program at Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University (APARC) welcomes affiliation requests from those applying for the Korea Foundation’s KF Fellowship for Postdoctoral Research. 

Eligibility:

Scholars with a recent PhD in a subject related to Korea within five years who do not currently hold a regular faculty position are eligible to apply. Applicants must have citizenship or permanent residency in a country outside Korea.

Per Korea Foundation postdoctoral fellowship policy, the fellowship recipient may not conduct research at the university from which a PhD was obtained. Thus Stanford PhD applicants are not eligible to apply for this fellowship with affiliation with Stanford University.

Applicants must have confirmation of degree conferral by July 1, 2019. The appointment period of the KF-APARC Korea Program Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University is from September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020. Research fields supported by this fellowship are in the humanities and social sciences. This fellowship cannot be combined with other sources including other fellowships and grants.

If the KF fellowship stipend does not meet Stanford University’s postdoctoral salary requirement then APARC Korea Program will supplement the stipend to meet the Stanford minimum requirement.  If selected, KF-APARC Korea Program Postdoctoral Fellow will also be eligible for health benefits available at Stanford University to postdoctoral fellows.

Application Process:

The applicant will need to prepare two applications.

1) Application submission to Stanford University: Deadline Monday, January 20, 2019

Applicants will submit the following application materials in PDF format through a Stanford application portal.

-       Curriculum Vitae
-       Research Proposal (no longer than 5 typed pages, double-spaced)
-       Copy of degree conferral (if already obtained)

In addition, applicants will arrange three letters of recommendation to be directly emailed to kfaparc-postdoc@stanford.edu.

Your application to Stanford University will not be considered complete until we have received ALL of the requested materials. 

2) Application submission to Korea Foundation:

The applicant is advised to check the KF Postdoctoral Fellowship portal, http://apply.kf.or.kr, early January to submit the application to Korea Foundation.

For details of the application materials required by the Korea Foundation, you will have to visit the KF Fellowship portal.

Notification process: Applicants will be notified of APARC’s decision by the end of January. Affiliations with Stanford University will be contingent on the applicant being awarded the KF Postdoctoral Fellowship announced by the Korea Foundation in April/May. Please note that selection by Stanford University does not guarantee selection by the Korea Foundation. APARC will, however, advise the Korea Foundation of its selection. We ask the applicants to contact the APARC Korea Program manager at hjahn@stanford.edu to confirm whether or not they will be coming to APARC, as soon as they are notified of the Korea Foundation’s decision.

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2017-18 Shorenstein APARC Overview Available

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Shorenstein APARC's annual overview of the Center's 2017-18 activities  is now available to download. 

Feature sections look at the Center's seminars, conferences, and other activities in response to the North Korean crisis, research and events related to China's past, present, and future, and several Center research initiatives focused on technology and the changing workforce.

The overview highlights recent and ongoing Center research on Japan's economic policies, innovation in Asia, population aging and chronic disease in Asia, and talent flows in the knowledge economy, plus news about Shorenstein APARC's education and policy activities, publications, and more.

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Ketian Zhang

616 Serra StreetEncina Hall E301Stanford, CA 94305-6055
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Ketian Vivian Zhang joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as the 2018-2019 Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellow in Contemporary Asia. Ketian studies coercion, economic sanctions, and maritime territorial disputes in international relations and social movements in comparative politics, with a regional focus on China and East Asia. She bridges the study of international relations and comparative politics and has a broader theoretical interest in linking international security and international political economy. Her book project examines when, why, and how China uses coercion when faced with issues of national security, such as territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, foreign arms sales to Taiwan, and foreign leaders’ reception of the Dalai Lama. Ketian's research has been supported by organizations such as the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University, the Smith Richardson Foundation, and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation.

At Shorenstein APARC, Ketian worked on turning parts of her book project into academic journal papers while conducting fieldwork for her next major project: examining how target states of Chinese coercion respond to China's assertiveness, including the business community and ordinary citizens.

Ketian received her Ph.D. in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018, where she is also an affiliate of the Security Studies Program. Before coming to Stanford, Ketian was a Predoctoral Research Fellow in the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. Ketian holds a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was previously a research intern at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., where she was a contributor to its website Foreign Policy in Focus.

2018-2019 Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellow in Contemporary Asia

Reinventing Japan: New Directions in Global Leadership (Book Chapter)

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Highly readable yet deeply researched, this book serves as an essential guide to the many ways in which Japan has risen to become one of the world's most creative and innovative societies.


• Challenges conventional views of Japan as mired in two unproductive "lost decades" by documenting the myriad ways in which the nation has embraced creativity and innovation

• Describes the ways in which Japan has transformed our lives and explains the guiding principles of one of the world's least understood, most vibrantly creative societies

• Explains how Japan, as the world's first non-Western developed nation, can inspire other nations at a time when America's economic and social models are being challenged as never before

• Argues that, in a world that seems to have lost its direction in the face of threats ranging from terrorism to angry populism, Japan can assume greater leadership in preserving global peace and prosperity

Chapter 4 of this book, Departing from Silicon Valley: Japan's New Startup Ecosystem, was written by Shorenstein APARC Research Scholar Kenji Kushida.

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Artificial Intelligence: The Algorithmic Revolution Driving the Next Industrial Transformation

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming one of the underlying drivers of the next wave of industrial transformations. There is every reason to believe that we are on the cusp of a sea change in how human activities and decision-making are transformed by abundant computing power. This research note will provide the basis for understanding the conceptual building blocks and paradigmatic examples of how the development of AI is accelerating, and how its deployment will be transformative. 

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Tokyo Alumni Reception

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Alumni and Friends of Shorenstein APARC are invited to a gathering in Tokyo.  We hope you can join for this opportunity to reconnect as well as build new relationships!

 

Wadakura Fountain Park RestaurantTokyo, Japan

Looking Past CVID with North Korea

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Gi-Wook Shin
Joyce Lee
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While the Trump administration may still believe in CVID, Gi-Wook Shin and Joyce Lee argue that–at present–it is no longer a realistic goal.

In an article for for 38 North, Shin and Lee explain why it may be too late for CVID, explore Kim Jong-un’s possible agenda, and provide their thoughts on what the goal of negotiations should now be going forward.

Article is available online without subscription or login
 

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jon-un
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