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.

After twelve years at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, the Taiwan Democracy Project will be returning to its original home at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) this fall. During its tenure at CDDRL, the Taiwan Democracy Project was led by FSI Senior Fellow Larry Diamond, who expanded the research agenda to examine the political, social and regional dynamics confronting democracy in Taiwan. A particular focus for the Program was cross-Strait relations and the increasing threats from regional neighbors. 

The Taiwan Democracy Project hosted an annual conference on Taiwan democracy at Stanford bringing together Taiwanese scholars and experts, as well a very active speaker series that ran through the course of the academic year. Several publications also emerged from the program, most recently, Taiwan's Democracy Challenged: The Chen Shui-bian Years, edited by Yun-han Chu, Larry Diamond and Kharis Templeman, which provides a sweeping account of Taiwan’s democratic performance from 2000-2008.

Other edited books of the project compared political trajectories in Taiwan and mainland China, and assessed the policy and institutional challenges confronting the maturing democracies of Taiwan and Korea. A fourth book, assessing the recently concluded presidency of Ma Ying-jeou, is now in preparation. The program also hosted a fellowship program for senior public administrators in the Taiwan government who spent an academic quarter in residence at CDDRL. An undergraduate student fellowship allowed Stanford students to spend a summer in Taiwan to examine different dimensions of its democratic transition. 

"We are very proud of what we were able to accomplish during these last twelve years," said Larry Diamond at the conclusion of CDDRL's hosting of the project. "Taiwan is one of the most vibrant and successful democracies of the Third Wave of global democratization, and what we have learned has significant implications not only for Taiwan's democratic future, but for the possible - and I believe eventual - emergence of democracy on the mainland as well. We are especially grateful to our partners at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, which has provided generous support while always respecting the core principle of academic freedom."

In returning to APARC, the Taiwan Democracy Project’s focus will shift to examine the challenges of democracy and security and will be renamed the Taiwan Democracy and Security Project under the leadership of Karl Eikenberry, the Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow and the director of the U.S.-Asia Security Initiative at APARC. Kharis Templeman, who has been at CDDRL for over four years managing the project, will continue in this capacity as the project's director at APARC. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump recently held a summit in Washington, their first face-to-face meeting in a time of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Experts from the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center offered insights in a series of publications and press interviews.

In advance of the summit, William J. Perry Fellow Kathleen Stephens spoke on Bloomberg television about the challenges facing the United States and South Korea, and how those challenges would be prioritized during the bilateral meeting.

Moon would be bringing the message that the U.S.-South Korea alliance is a “strong one and that he remains committed to it,” and that, “only by working transparently and closely together” could the two countries address areas of concern, Stephens said.

“Only when Washington and Seoul are able to talk very frankly to each other and come up with a coordinated plan do we have any chance of making some progress on North Korea,” she added.

Stephens joined the program from Seoul, where a group of Shorenstein APARC faculty and fellows participated in a public seminar and the Korea-U.S. West Coast Strategic Forum, a biannual conference that seeks to foster dialogue about issues affecting the Korean Peninsula and the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

The seminar, held in conjunction with The Sejong Institute, received press coverage; such articles can be read on the Voice of America website (in Korean) and Sisa Journal website (in Korean).

In an analysis piece for Tokyo Business Today, Associate Director for Research Daniel Sneider assessed the outcomes of the summit between Moon and Trump, suggesting that their meeting was satisfactory – without signs of major discord.

“For the most part, this display of calculated pragmatism worked well. There was no visible daylight between the two leaders over how to handle the North and THAAD totally disappeared from the summit talk, at least in public and in the joint statement issued by the two governments.”

The summit, however, may prove to be a “temporary gain,” Sneider added. “Beneath the smiles, there was plenty of evidence of the gaps, and even the tensions, that exist between a progressive government in Seoul, one that echoes the views of its ideological predecessors of a decade ago, and a nationalist, conservative regime in Washington.”

Read the piece in English and Japanese.

Days after the summit, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which the United States and South Korea followed by hosting joint military exercises.

Stephens spoke on WBUR radio about the ICBM test launch and the initial reactions of the Trump administration.

“If [President Trump’s] agenda is to take stronger defensive measures against North Korea, I think he will find strong partners in Japan and South Korea,” she said, noting that other measures, such as diplomacy and economic sanctions, have also been used to affect pressure on the regime.

Responding to a question about China’s relationship with North Korea, Stephens said Beijing has not exhausted all possible tools in its efforts to persuade Pyongyang to slow or abandon its nuclear and missile activities. This is because China fears a collapse of the regime and “takes a long view” in its calculus, she said.

This news item has been updated.