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.

“…factually Japan has made many apologies; but many Koreans and Chinese at the same time feel that those apologies have not been sincere. So there’s a gap between facts and interpretations or public sentiments.”

Twenty years after the Kim-Obuchi summit raised hopes for “a new Japan-Korea partnership for the 21st century”, the Carnegie Endowment for Internatonal Peace gathered diplomats and scholars, including APARC Director Gi-Wook ShIn, for reflection on what polices and initiatives have succeeded or failed since 1998 and why.

A recording of the panel is available online

"Although peace was the prevailing theme of the opening night at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the air in the VIP box was charged with awkwardness and intimidation," said researchers at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center in a recently published article. "The real test for Moon's leadership begins now."

The full article in East Asia Forum is available here.

“I don't think [young South Koreans] necessarily want reunification,” APARC director Gi-Wook Shin tells an audience during the World Affairs panel, “Responding to North Korea: South Korea’s Olympic Olive Branch and US Cyber Warfare Options." Joined by Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, the two spoke with World Affars CEO Jane Wales about many of the issues facing the Korean peninsula as it prepares for the start of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

The conversation is also available as a downloadable podcast

In October 2017, twenty-two scholars from eight countries attended a workshop titled “ASEAN @ 50, Southeast Asia @ Risk: What should be done?” The workshop was designed to facilitate a frank and creative discussion of policy recommendations, with the intention of providing the resulting proposals to ASEAN member states and other regional powers. Following two days of discussion and debate, the attendees produced a series of specific policy recommendations (SPRs).

Four sets of Southeast Asia-related topics were covered during the workshop: regional security, regional infrastructure, regional economy, and improving ASEAN. The attending scholars—which included Director of the U.S.-Asia Security Initiative Karl Eikenberry and Director of the Southeast Asia Program Donald Emmerson—submitted 24 SPRs for discussion.

Over two-and-a-half days, the group evaluated each SPR for its effectiveness, significance, specificity, and feasibility. The intention was to produce specific proposals addressing some of the main challenges facing Southeast Asia. So as to encourage openness in the dialogue, the workshop was held under the Chatham House Rule.

The Southeast Asia Program and the U.S.-Asia Security Initiative in the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center prepared this program and final publication in cooperation with multiple partners. Their final recommendations have been included in the 20-page report which is now available online.

Interventions designed to improve primary care management of diabetes and reduce avoidable hospital admissions show promise for saving healthcare resources without compromising quality of care. These are the findings made by an international research team’s study of four East Asian sites.

With a fourfold increase in global diabetes prevalence over the past thirty-five years (2016 Lancet report), countries are increasingly experiencing the dual health challenges of chronic noncommunicable diseases and aging populations. An estimated 12 percent of global health expenditures in 2015 was for diabetes-related services.

The study, published in the November issue of Health Affairs, examined policy interventions in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and rural and peri-urban Beijing; by increasing access and adherence to effective outpatient management, the interventions potentially improved health outcomes while realizing cost savings from reduced avoidable hospital admissions.

“This article represents the first publication in a series of research collaborations under the Stanford AHPP-led comparative diabetes net value project,” said Karen Eggleston, Asia Health Policy Program Director and one of the article’s authors.  “We are assembling and analyzing rich patient-level datasets, using diabetes as a lens to explore ‘value for money’ in chronic disease management. “

Eggleston also noted that additional research teams have joined since the publication. The authors look forward to contributing evidence for improved health policy in different institutional contexts and for health systems adapting to rapidly aging populations. 

Read the study (may require subscription)