::Global Asia::

The Death of Kim Jong Il: Now What?
By John Delury and Chung-in Moon

After 17 years at the helm of North Korea, the Dear Leader is no more, and suddenly we are faced with a reality on which so much “contingency planning” has been based. So, what can we expect of the next chapter in the North’s political history? And how should the key players—South Korea, the US and China—navigate this sensitive and critical transition period?

In April, we argued in an essay for 38 North that the succession process appeared to be going smoothly; for now, a few days after the death of Kim Jong Il, we stand by that assessment. We see no evidence of near-term political crisis or confusion as to the new pecking order; no sign of immediate factional struggles, popular revolt, or systemic breakdown. In this, what Time magazine has called “the Year of the Protestor,” when dictators were overthrown, tried and shot, there remains no hint of a Pyongyang Spring to come. Kim died of natural causes.

Corruption Erodes and Undermines Indonesia’s Growth
By Yohanes Sulaiman

As a developing country riddled with corruption at every level, Indonesia appears to defy expectations with consistently high growth rates in recent years. But this cannot last: sooner or later, corruption will stifle growth as more and more people demand their share and the costs of doing business Rocket…

Corruption Harms Development? It’s Not That Simple
By Hal Hill

Indonesia’s unexpected and stellar growth over four decades shows clearly that corruption does not have to be a barrier to a booming economy. The key is only allowing the ‘right’ sort of corruption: Small bribes that oil the wheels of commerce for everyone are less of a problem than high-profile…

Chung-in Moon and David Plott

The world enters 2012 amid growing anxiety that the lingering effects of the financial crisis that engulfed the global economy in 2008 will erupt into yet another crisis, possibly with more profound effects than the Great Recession three years ago. At the center of the uncertainty are Europe and the United States, with the former struggling to contain a banking and sovereign debt crisis that threatens to unravel the euro zone, while the latter is paralyzed by a toxic policy struggle over whether to stimulate the economy further or focus on slashing the federal budget deficit despite weak economic growth.

Much is at stake for Asia in the outcome of Europe and America’s policy choices. This is not only because demand from these economies underpins much of Asia’s export growth, but also because another collapse of Western markets and financial systems would inevitably shake those in Asia.

NAPSNet Weekly:

NAPSNet 26 January 2012

Policy Forum:

North Korea’s Transition: Do Not Let Contingencies Distract from Realities

Special Report:

South Korea’s Plans for Tidal Power: When a “Green” Solution Creates More Problems

Indian agriculture will benefit from retail FDI
By Nandita Dasgupta

UMBC India’s food price inflation has been a major driving factor behind the country’s accelerating inflation over the past few years. In particular agricultural food p...

		The economic uncertainties that continue to grip the world over how the US and Europe will resolve their respective financial crises are front and center in the minds of policy makers worldwide. Here in Asia there is much that could be done to assist the global recovery.

What Price Democracy? How the West Could Learn From East Asia
By Timo Kivimäki

It is taken as orthodoxy in much of the democratic West that intrusive efforts to promote democracy, up to and including armed intervention of the kind seen recently in NATO’s support of the Libyan uprising, are means justified by the ends — namely to support democratic governance.

Biding and Hiding No Longer: A More Assertive China Rattles the Region
By Nick Bisley

China’s newfound assertiveness, particularly in its maritime disputes with its neighbors, has disturbed the region and reawakened US attention to a part of the world it had largely been neglecting.

Security Co-operation in Northeast Asia: The Relevance of Europe’s Experience
By Frances Mautner-Markhof

Despite its potential for conflict rooted in historical grievances, Northeast Asia lags far behind Europe in developing multilateral systems to ensure effective regional security co-operation. Frances Mautner-Markhof argues that the experiences of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe provide the region with a potential road map.

A Proposal for a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone in Northeast Asia
By Morton H. Halperin

As the Six-Party talks aimed at eliminating North Korea’s nuclear program remain stalled, a fresh approach incorporating the concept of a nuclear weapons-free zone in Northeast Asia should be considered as a way of ensuring peace and security in the region, Morton H. Halperin argues.

A Nuclear-Free Taiwan by 2025? An Unlikely Target
By Henry Philippens

Nuclear energy, long a contentious issue in Taiwanese politics, has been catapulted into the spotlight by upcoming presidential elections and the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in March 2011.

Dawei Port: Thailand’s Megaproject in Burma
By Pavin Chachavalpongpun

If the political process under way in Burma genuinely heralds the end of the country’s long torpor under military rule, the opening of the economy is a key factor. In that context, the role of Thailand in the massive Dawei deep-water port project is crucial, writes Pavin Chachavalpongpun. He examines the potential political and economic impact of Dawei on Burma’s future.

The Spin Doctor’s Unsettling Rise In Indonesia
By Andreas Ufen

One by-product of democracy over the last dozen years in Indonesia has been the creation of a political polling and consulting industry. This mass commercialization of elections rewards popularity and diminishes the role of party insiders but it also increases the hold of big business on the political process, writes Andreas Ufen.

LONG REVIEWS
		The Man Who Made Modern Korea Reviewed by Charles K. Armstrong

		Thirty-two years after his death, Park Chung Hee (1917–1979) is currently the most revered former president in the history of South Korea. Park’s popularity is largely a posthumous phenomenon.



SHORT REVIEWS
		A Salute to the East Asian Model Reviewed by Taehwan Kim

		This book is the latest addition to the more than a century-old great debate on the relations between the state and the market as determining factors of economic performance. British sociologist and political economist Jeffrey Henderson clearly sides with the “state school” faction.

		How to Grow and Keep Growing Reviewed by John Delury

		It is conventional wisdom to say that if Asians were to consume like Americans, our planet would be pushed beyond the breaking point. And yet, particularly now with the euro zone teetering on the brink, the whole world is rooting for Asia to grow, grow, grow, and everyone is talking about how China needs to shift to a consumer-driven growth model.