September 20th, 2018

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Inter-Korean and Kim-Trump Summits and the Future of the Korean Divide

Date: 
Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 15:00 to 16:30

Inter-Korean and Kim-Trump Summits and the Future of the Korean Divide
Guest lecture by  Professor Key-Young Son, Korea University

Abstract
U.S. President Donald Trump hailed his recent summit with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un as a “very important event in world history,” claiming Kim has given his “unwavering” commitment to dismantle its “very substantial” nuclear arsenal. How does this summit, along with the April summit between the two Koreas, affect the 70-year division on the Korean Peninsula? We often approach the Korean divide as a historical event which started with Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945 and lasted during the past 70 years. Simplistic and static, this vision aims to explain the entirety of the question of the Korean divide mainly from the perspectives of superpower politics. In contrast, this talk introduces more nuanced and sophisticated perspectives to illustrate the various forces which had affected the Korean divide and rapprochement. In this way, this lecture seeks to provide a yardstick in looking at a multitude of problems arising from the Korean divide, including nuclear and missile crises.

Bio
Key-young Son is Humanities Kore Professor at the Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University. He is editor-in-chief of the East Asian Community Review, a peer-reviewed journal published by Palgrave. He was former diplomacy writer and political editor at the Korea Times. He served as lecturer at the School of East Asian Studies, the University of Sheffield in Britain and visiting associate professor at the School of Law, Tohoku University, in Sendai, Japan. His most recent publications is Order Wars and Floating  Balance: How the Rising Powers Are Reshaping Our Worldview in the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2018)

Time: Thursday 13 September 2018, 15:00-16:30
Venue: NIAS, NIAS meeting room (18.1.08), Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1353 Cph K

CFP 11th Annual Nordic NIAS Council Conference & PhD Course Asia on the Move

Date: 
Monday, November 5, 2018 to Friday, November 9, 2018

The conference and PhD course are organized by Centre for Peace Studies at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway & NIAS - Nordic Institute of Asian Studies

Asia – a region that contains nuclear states, the second and third largest economies in the world, the largest global population – is on the move!

The continent which has changed the most in the 21st century is Asia: be it Asia’s engagement with the Arctic region, presence in Africa, economic prominence, or geopolitical influence within and outside of the region, increased population movements in and outside Asia, increased risk of climate change, democratization and citizenship issues, nuclear proliferation and security threats to and from some of the Asian countries – all require in-depth analysis for good global governance.

For example, the rise of China in Central Asia has led to many speculations, including a ‘New Great Game’ with Russia and the United States. On the other hand, new moves from both parties on the Korean peninsula may see a ‘new hope’ for peace.  Sideways, in the context of climate change and ‘arctic race’, new geo-ecopolitical, and geostrategic dynamics led to the growing interest of non-Arctic states in the affairs of the Arctic. Engagement of countries like China, Japan, Korea and India in the Arctic will significantly influence the evolving dynamics in that region.
Meanwhile, forced migration (e.g. Rohingya issues) and climate change induced displacement, corruption, violation of human rights and citizenship, crisis in Asian mega cities, and rising inequality have huge influence on ‘The Move’ and hence require much attention from policymakers and academics working on Asia.  

In this context, the annual NNC conference 2018 will take place in the High North venue of Tromsø, at UiT-The Arctic University of Norway.

Keynote Speakers:

  • Arne Strand, Lecturer, Director, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway
  • Cholpon Chotaeva, Professor, American University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
  • Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, Professor, Centre for Peace Studies, Tromsø, Norway
  • Mohammad Salehin, Associate Professor, Centre for Peace Studies, Tromsø, Norway

Deadline for submitting abstract (maximum 300 words) 6 September 2018:

For more information, please go to the conference website: www.asiaonthemove2018.com

 

Files: 
2cfp_asia_onthe_move_2018.pdf