Stanford University

International Development

FSI researchers consider international development from a variety of angles. They analyze ideas such as how public action and good governance are cornerstones of economic prosperity in Mexico and how investments in high school education will improve China’s economy.

They are looking at novel technological interventions to improve rural livelihoods, like the development implications of solar power-generated crop growing in Northern Benin.

FSI academics also assess which political processes yield better access to public services, particularly in developing countries. With a focus on health care, researchers have studied the political incentives to embrace UNICEF’s child survival efforts and how a well-run anti-alcohol policy in Russia affected mortality rates.

FSI’s work on international development also includes training the next generation of leaders through pre- and post-doctoral fellowships as well as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program.

Risa J. Toha

Shorenstein APARCStanford UniversityEncina Hall, Room E301Stanford,  CA  94305-6055
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Visiting Scholar
risa_toha_logo.jpg PhD

Risa J. Toha is a Visiting Scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC). She is a Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, and starting from Fall 2014, she will be a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College, IL. 

Her research encompasses questions about democracy, development, ethnicity, and violence, with an area focus on Southeast Asia. At Shorenstein APARC, she will complete a few manuscripts on democratic transition, political inclusion, and riots in Indonesia, as well as participate actively in various interdisciplinary forums at the Center. 

Toha holds a Ph.D. and an MA in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an AB in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.

Change in North Korea: Pyongyang Façade or More

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Since Kim Jong Un came to power, interest in North Korea (DPRK) has increased but it is difficult to judge whether the growing range of media reports and the commentaries based on them are accurate or not. Spending almost 30 months in the DPRK from March 2012, mainly in Pyongyang but also making visits outside, offered an opportunity to collect up-to-date materials, especially photographs, which may offer an insight into the changes taking place. These might offer a new angle to be considered and hopefully stimulate further discussion about what is really happening in the DPRK now.

Mike Cowin, former deputy head of mission at the British Embasy in Pyongyang, joined the Korea Program at Stanford's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research  Center as the 2014–15 Pantech Fellow. He is a specialist on Korea and Japan, has been a member of the Research Cadre of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom since 1988. He has also served in the British embassies in Tokyo from 1992 to 1997, in Seoul from 2003 to 2007, and in Pyongyang as deputy head of mission since March 2012.

He has spent most of his career in London working on policy related research, providing advice to relevant policy desks and acting as the interface between the FCO and academic and research institutions.

Philippines Conference Room,
Encina Hall 3rd floor,
Stanford University

Mike Cowin

Shorenstein APARCStanford UniversityEncina Hall, Room E301Stanford,  CA  94305-6055
(650) 723-9404 (650) 723-6530
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mike_cowin.jpg

Mike Cowin, former deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea, joins the Korean Studies Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center as the 2014–15 Pantech Fellow. Having spent twenty years covering Korean issues for the British Government, Cowin brings immense insight not only on North Korea but also on Northeast Asia. During his time at the Center, Cowin will focus his research on economic and social deverlpment that he has seen taking place in North Korea while serving there. Cowin, a specialist on Korea and Japan, has been a member of the Research Cadre of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom since 1988. He has also served in the British embassies in Tokyo from 1992 to 1997, in Seoul from 2003 to 2007, and presently in Pyongyang, as deputy head of mission, since March 2012. He has spent most of his career in London working on policy related research, providing advice to relevant policy desks and acting as the interface between the FCO and academic and research institutions.

Pantech Fellow, 2014-2015
Speaker 2014-15 Pantech Fellow, Stanford University
Seminars
Korean Studies Colloquium Series

Implementing Structural Reforms in Abenomics: How to Reduce the Cost of Doing Business in Japan

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Improving the environment for business is an important part of the growth strategy of Abenomics. As the goal for this effort, the Abe Administration aims to improve Japan’s rank in the World Bank Doing Business Ranking to one of the top three among OECD. This paper clarifies what it takes for Japan to achieve the goal. By looking at details of the World Bank Doing Business ranking, we identify various reforms that Japan could implement to improve the ranking. Then, we classify the reforms into six groups depending on whether the reform requires legal changes and on political resistance that the reform is likely to face. By just doing the reforms that do not require legal changes and are not likely to face strong political opposition, Japan can improve the ranking to 13th. To be in the top 3, Japan would need to implement all the reforms that are not likely to face strong political resistance. The conclusions, however, are based on the assumption that the conditions in the other countries do not change, which is unrealistic. Thus, Japan would need to carry out all the reforms including those with high political resistance to be among the top three.

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Takeo Hoshi

Modes of Engagement

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Modes of Engagement front cover.

Of Asia’s 800 million Muslims, 215 million are minorities within their countries. These Muslim minorities have experienced a persistent decline in their socioeconomic and political status. Along with this decline, they are increasingly identified by their faith and largely accorded no other identity for civic relations. Why have these Muslim minorities been particularly affected during a time of unprecedented opportunities for the mainstream in Asia’s unprecedented era of growth and rising freedoms?

Using detailed analyses of China, India, and the Philippines, Modes of Engagement argues that key factors in this phenomenon include the linkage between socioeconomic decline, loss of political power, and narrowing of identity; nationalism and its associated connotations of the assimilation of minorities; the weakness of civil society generally in Asia; and the rise in regional and global alliances for security and trade.

Contributors include Wajahat Habibullah (National Commission for Minorities and National Institute of Technology, India), Rakesh Basant (Indian Institute of Management), Dru C. Gladney (Pomona College), and Joseph Chinyong Liow (Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore).

Rafiq Dossani is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation. His research interests include regional integration, security, and education. Previously, Dossani was a senior research scholar at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and director of the Stanford Center for South Asia.

Examination copies: Shorenstein APARC books are distributed by Stanford University Press. Contact them for information on obtaining examination copies.

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Muslim Minorities in Asia

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Shorenstein APARC
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Governors' Meeting in Silicon Valley

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GOVERNORS' MEETING IN SILICON VALLEY

U.S.-Japan Economic Collaboration at the State-Prefecture Level

 

July 28, 2014

MacCaw Hall at Arrillaga Alumni Center, Stanford University

 

This July, as part of the U.S.-Japan Council’s (USJC) Governors’ Circle Initiative, USJC and The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) will convene a Japan Governors’ Meeting in Silicon Valley. Governors from six prefectures, namely Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Oita, Okayama, Saga and Shizuoka, have confirmed their attendance, and each plans to bring a delegation of business leaders and government officials involved in bilateral economic collaboration. These governors are interested in the state of California, particularly Silicon Valley, as a leader in the fields of IT, biomedical/healthcare, automobile technology, clean energy and consumer goods. This event will serve as a catalyst for select Japanese prefectures to connect with the Silicon Valley’s innovative companies, pilot projects, and state-of-the-art technologies across a number of sectors, including technology licensing, market development, manufacturing agreements, investments, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships.

For registration, please visit http://bit.ly/GovCircle    

 

Date: July 28:  Plenary Session and Networking Reception/Sake Tasting (Open to Public)  

2:00 - 2:15 pm:    Opening Remarks

2:15- 2:45 pm:     Presentation by the Director of Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI)

2:45 – 4:00 pm:   Governors’ Panel Discussion on Prefectures’ Economic Collaboration Targets and Collaboration with Silicon Valley

4:00 - 4:15 pm:    Break

4:15 - 5:15 pm:    Presentations:  “How Stanford Played a Significant Role in Creating New Businesses Collaborations in Silicon Valley”

5:15 - 5:30 pm:    Closing Remarks

5:30 – 7:30 pm:  Networking Reception

Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center

Conferences

Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Assistance to North Korea: What are the needs today after almost 20 years of aid projects and programs?

Engaging North Korea

Rapidly changing circumstances continue to shape relations on the Korean peninsula and in East Asia. North Korea has repeatedly engaged in provocative behavior, and the constant flux of political, social, and economic affairs in the region has also created challenges for long-standing alliances.

This research project seeks to examine the interests and policy environments of South Korea, North Korea, and their neighbors. Issues addressed will include the role of North Korea, nuclear proliferation, Japan’s economic future, the rise of China, and Korean reunification.

Global Talent and Innovation

A central focus of the research efforts at Shorenstein APARC is to analyze the bridges linking Asia and the United States. As the Asian diaspora continues to grow in America and across the world, new possibilities have emerged for migrants who become integrated into their host societies while remaining engaged with their home societies. Such trans-migration creates new innovation and trade opportunities for both Asia and the United States, as a positive-sum game where both sides benefit.

Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Assistance to North Korea: What are the needs today after almost 20 years of aid projects and programs?

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Due to the interest generated by this seminar, we have reached our maximum seating capacity and are not able to accommodate any more guests. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

This event is co-sponsored by The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.

About the Topic: Following several visits to North Korea in recent months, the most recent one in April 2014, Kathi Zellweger will focus her remarks on humanitarian aid, rehabilitation projects, and development cooperation in North Korea. The presenter’s findings will be supported by a number of facts and figures about the country and background information about the health sector. The speaker will identify the participants in the area of assistance along with the issues they face when providing aid. The talk will also provide insights into positive examples of projects, what is needed for projects to succeed, and how the type of aid required is changing. Based on nearly 20 years of work experience involving North Korea, Zellweger concludes that isolation and sanctions hinder development potential and that engagement is more likely to be a constructive and peaceful way forward. 

About the Speaker: Kathi Zellweger is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. Prior to that she was the Pantech Fellow in Korean Studies at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, in residence at Stanford University from November 2011 to August 2013. Most recently at Stanford she gave a course entitled “An Insight into North Korea Society” for  graduate  and undergraduate students. She is a frequent presenter on the topic of the situation of the North Korean people, to audiences in the U.S. and abroad. Zellweger has also made significant contributions in this field through her participation in workshops, seminars and conferences about humanitarian, as well as security, issues on the Korean peninsula, more specifically  regarding North Korea.  

Zellweger is a senior aid manager with over 30 years of field experience in Hong Kong, China and North Korea. She was based in Pyongyang for five years (2006-2011) as North Korea country director for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), an office of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The focus of her work was on sustainable agricultural production in order to address food security issues, income generation to improve people’s livelihoods, and capacity development contributing to individual and institutional learning.

Before joining SDC, Zellweger worked from 1978 to 2006 for the Catholic agency Caritas in Hong Kong in a senior post; she played a key role in pioneering Caritas involvement initiatives in China and in North Korea.

Zellweger received the Bishop Tji Hak-soon Justice and Peace Award in 2005 from a South Korean foundation established to promote social justice, and in 2006 the Dame of St. Gregory the Great from the Vatican for her work in North Korea.

CISAC Conference Room

Visiting Fellow, CISAC, Former Pantech Fellow in Korean Studies, APARC Speaker
Seminars
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