Non-traditional Security Issues Research Articles

The political economy of non-traditional security: Explaining the governance of Avian Influenza in Indonesia

Given the common association of non-traditional security (NTS) problems with globalisation, surprisingly little attention has been paid to how the political economy context of given NTS issues shapes how they are securitised and managed in practice. We argue that security and its governance are always highly contested because different modes of security governance invariably privilege particular interests and normative agendas in state and society, which relate directly to the political economy. Drawing on critical political geography, we argue that, because NTS issues are perceived as at least potentially transnational, their securitisation often involves strategic attempts by actors and coalitions to ‘rescale’ their governance beyond the national political and institutional arenas, into new, expert-dominated modes of governance. Such efforts are often resisted by other coalitions, for which this rescaling is deleterious. As evidenced by a case study of avian influenza in Indonesia, particular governance outcomes depend upon the nature of the coalitions assembled for and against rescaling in specific situations, while these coalitions’ makeup and relative strength is shaped by the political economy of the industries that rescaling would affect, viewed against the broader backdrop of state-society relations.

India’s Maritime Strategy and the Emerging Relation with Australia

The geopolitical reshuffling and developments in the twenty-first century forced the countries in the Indo-Pacific region to understand and improvise their strategies. Continental power projection has considerably shifted to maritime prowess; especially so for both India and Australia. While India’s maritime interest is rather recent, Australia had not created a maritime mindset for nearly seven decades. The region of the Indian and the Pacific Oceans has gained central focus due to economic and strategic reasons with the interplay of non-traditional security issues like piracy and terrorism. The critique on maritime security became much more pronounced with China’s rise and visible aggression in South China Sea. India has been at the centre stage of these shifting balances and geopolitics of the region. Regionalism and cooperative and/or comprehensive security became the buzz words for Indo-Pacific. The study will focus on India’s maritime strategy and its convergence with Australia’s maritime strategy and the emerging relation between the two countries.

Security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: non-traditional security as a catalyst

This article details the importance of non-traditional security (NTS) issues as catalysts for the development and expansion of regional security architectures across the Indo-Pacific. The trans-boundary and non-military character of NTS issues, such as natural disasters and pandemic disease, have compelled states across the region to seek deeper and more substantial levels of security integration. NTS issues have pushed existing security structures west into the Indian Ocean and initiated the development of newer defence-based regional forums. New cooperative structures include large multi-lateral groupings such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting as well as bi-lateral agreements between ASEAN and other countries in the Indo-Pacific. Largely based on NTS issues, these venues firmly stretch ASEAN-based coordination across the Indo-Pacific and demonstrate an unprecedented move towards cooperative security. NTS issues provide important opportunities and incentives for security cooperation across the Indo-Pacific and should be perceived as valuable first steps toward more coherent and integrated Indo-Pacific security architectures.

Separatist Conflicts in the ASEAN Region: Comparing Southern Thailand and Mindanao

This paper examines two cases of separatist conflict, namely the conflict in Southern Thailand and the conflict in the southern Philippines. Both conflicts have been long-lasting, extremely violent, and embedded in ethnic and religious sentiments. The comparison shows that there are structural analogies in both conflict cases that indicate similar root causes. State-internal conflicts of this scale are not purely a matter of national politics. States and non-state actors have influenced – and are still influencing – both separatist conflicts in various ways and towards different outcomes. It becomes apparent that non-traditional security issues that are linked to state-internal conflicts demand a more proactive role of ASEAN in the field of conflict management.

ASEAN's Environmental Challenges and Non-Traditional Security Cooperation: Towards a Regional Peacekeeping Force?

This article reflects on the prospect for an ASEAN peacekeeping force and regional security cooperation. I argue that progress on ‘soft’ security issues stands to facilitate a slow deepening of ‘hard’ security cooperation at the ASEAN level. Governments of ASEAN member states are still reluctant to develop a regional mechanism for conflict resolution, which they perceive to be a challenge to the norms of non-interference and state sovereignty. Yet, these norms are subject to dynamic shifts in the security environment that regional governments now have to manage. The establishment of mechanisms to address politically less controversial non-traditional security issues such as environmental challenges stands to further develop and consolidate military-to-military ties and deepen political trust among member states. An ASEAN standby force for emergency response and disaster relief has become a politically acceptable initiative and could set the stage for the development of an ASEAN peacekeeping force.

Energy and Non-Traditional Security (NTS) in Asia MELY CABALLERO-ANTHONY, YOUNGHO CHANG, and NUR AZHA PUTRA, eds. Heidelberg: Springer, 2012, ix+121p. / Human Security: Securing East Asia's Future BENNY TEH CHENG GUAN, ed. Dordrecht and New York: Springer, 2012, xiii+255p.

Energy and Non-Traditional Security (NTS) in Asia MELY CABALLERO-ANTHONY, YOUNGHO CHANG, and NUR AZHA PUTRA, eds. Heidelberg: Springer, 2012, ix+121p.Human Security: Securing East Asia's Future BENNY TEH CHENG GUAN, ed. Dordrecht and New York: Springer, 2012, xiii+255p.At present, non-traditional security issues have increasingly come to forefront of international attention, due to ongoing insecurity of populations and communities in Asian states. As a theme of global relevance, energy security in ASEAN nations has moved beyond issues of sovereignty and national security and gradually involved well-being of their populations. From nontraditional security perspectives, Energy and Non-Traditional Security (NTS) in Asia, is a timely collection of essays by well-chosen scholars who provide insightful explanations of salient aspects of energy security in ASEAN, and advance a series of policy recommendations at international, national, and individual levels, many of which should be practical in future.As Mely Caballero-Anthony and Nur Azha Putra conclude, security, stability, and sustainability are three fundamental features of non-traditional security to energy security (Anthony et al., pp. 4-5). Discussing negative impacts of energy security in ASEAN states, Maria Nimfa F. Mendoza examines current situation of energy markets, and explores socio-economic impacts on them at both microeconomic and macroeconomic levels. For instance, ASEAN states are burdened by considerable transportation costs, which lead to higher product costs than product prices. In words of Fitrian Ardiansyah, Neil Gunningham, and Peter Drahos, transaction costs are another negative impact which requires searching for, negotiating and enforcing contracts (Anthony et al., p. 109). In this respect, Indonesia sets a good example: for Indonesian government, there is a need to increase networked governance capacity on energy decisionmaking, and create a stable core of bureaucratic decision-makers (Anthony et al., p. 111). As Ardiansyah, Gunningham, and Drahos suggest in accordance with case of Indonesia, it is more practical to establish multilateral forums to coordinate central government, local government, investors, and developers.However, should ASEAN states provide subsidies for energy security? Mendoza stresses that fuel subsidies will probably distort product and even lead to biases in resource allocation that move away from labor-intensive industries (Anthony et al., p. 69). For example, governmental subsidies for bio-fuel could reduce relevant efficiency in helping poor consumers, since a substantial portion of governmental subsidies do go to richer consumers. Furthermore, subsidies for fossil fuel would distort corresponding pricing.The contributors advance a series of recommendations for enhancing energy security. In view of Youngho Chang and Swee Lean Collin Koh, market governance adds essential dimension to policy recommendations for energy security. There are four approaches to governance: market, bilateral, trilateral, and unified governance. In context of ASEAN states, market governance is most applicable approach, which is defined as an adequate and reliable supply of energy resources at reasonable prices (Anthony et al., p. 28). Because this approach does not merely balance the virtues of free market principles and government regulatory mechanisms (Anthony et al., p. 25) and encourage investment in energy sources, but also meets rising regional demand for energy. In case of Fukushima accident in Japan, Chang and Koh address adequate governance, environmental influences, and human costs in guaranteeing energy security. Moreover, based on evaluations of energy diversity in ASEAN states, Youngho Chang and Lixia Yao explain that energy diversity can constitute another approach to ensuring energy security in ASEAN states, offering not only a variety of energy infrastructures, but also a variety of energy sources. …

Non-Traditional Security Issues in North Korea ed. by Kyung-Ae Park

Reviewed by: Non-Traditional Security Issues in North Korea ed. by Kyung-Ae Park Jerôme de Wit Non-Traditional Security Issues in North Korea edited by Kyung-Ae Park . Honolulu : University of Hawai’i Press , 2013 . 265 pp. When the international media discusses North Korea, the most common topic that is paid attention to is its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and its missile program. This is usually paired with reports on North Korea’s belligerent rhetoric and a reminder of its million men army that are a threat to Northeast Asian security, Seoul in particular. Scholars and policy makers with a focus on North Korea are also keen to focus almost exclusively on these topics and one can find many analytical papers on the North’s military, defense budget, fighting capability, the state of its weapons systems, military exercises, etc. These studies all focus on national security concerns and belong to the realm of traditional security. This edited volume of works by North Korea experts is an attempt to shift the focus away from these traditional concerns. The book’s argument is that the theories and notions of national security have failed to offer an adequate explanation of the national security threats posed by North Korea. The contributors believe that the North’s national security concerns are to a high degree informed by human security and non-traditional security (NTS) issues, and, once the causes of the North’s national insecurity are known, we are better able to handle the threats posed by the North to our (inter-)national security. The first chapter introduces the concept of NTS and examines in the context of North Korea how NTS and traditional security form complex and multifaceted connections. It describes how the indeterminate relationship between national and human security can be conceptualized by focusing on NTS issues. By using examples of the North’s insecurity issues in regards to food and energy security, this chapter explains how NTS issues can serve as an important variable in determining whether a state and its society can be deemed secure or unsafe. The next chapters all deal with a specific non-traditional security issue. Chapter two gives a brief history of North Korea’s energy problems and discusses the impact the lack of energy security has on the North’s economy and society. The authors of this chapter regard energy shortages as one of the reasons why North Korea uses the threat of military action to try to induce the international community to meet its demands. Addressing these concerns will in their opinion help the overall security of the Northeast Asian region and they suggest several assistance approaches. Chapter three examines the NTS issue of economic security in connection with women in North Korea. The author shows that the North Korean economic crisis has had different impacts on men and women in that it changed [End Page 147] the pattern of women’s economic participation, dragging women away from the formal labor market into the informal private economic sector. This has also forced a number of women to cross the North Korean border in their attempt to provide for both their own and their families’ livelihoods. On the one hand it seems that the new economic roles that women have assumed has given them a stronger voice in family decision-making matters and allowed them to develop, to some degree, a sense of self-consciousness and awareness of their own rights. On the other hand women’s economic insecurity has negatively affected other sectors of their NTS and human security resulting in new threats such as an increase in workloads, sex trafficking and sexual violence, and the stress of family breakdowns. Chapter four deals with political bias in labeling North Korea a criminal state. By giving an overview of how transnational crime is securitized, the author shows that issues surrounding North Korea’s criminal behavior are more fiction than fact, and that even in cases where North Korea does indulge in such activities, their scope is small in comparison to other players in this arena. Issues related to North Korea’s food insecurity are the focus of chapters five and six. The...

North Korea in the World: Plus Ça Change?

DOES THE OLD SAW-PLUS CA CHANGE, PLUS C'EST LA MEME CHOSE-apply to North Korea? Yes and no. Here are some partial and sometimes conflicting answers suggested by a sampling of recent writings.1Armstrong, Charles K. Tyranny of the Weak: North Korea and the World, 1950-1992. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2013.Jager, Sheila Miyoshi. Brothers at War: The Unending Conflict in Korea. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013.Johnson, Adam. The Orphan Master's Son. New York: Random House, 2012.Lim Dong-won. Peacemaker: Twenty Years of Inter-Korean Relations and the North Korean Nuclear Issue. Stanford, CA: Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, 2012.On Korea 2013: Academic Paper Series. Vol. 6. Washington, DC: Korea Economic Institute of America, 2013.Park, Kyung-Ae, ed. Nontraditional Security Issues in North Korea. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2013.Park, Kyung-Ae, and Scott Snyder, eds. North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013.Yes, continuity persists. As Sheila Miyoshi Jager underscores, an unending conflict continues more than six decades after the 1953 Korean armistice. Yes, as Charles Armstrong reminds us, North Korea has continued to make the most of a very weak position. Yes, aspiring peacemakers like Lim Dong-won still hope to implement a version of the Sunshine Policy to open up the North. Yes, as the essays in On Korea 2013 make clear, China and other actors concerned with North Korea do not like what they see there but muddle along without taking any decisive action. Yes, as several contributors to North Korea in Transition explain, life in North Korea continues much as it has since 1946. Bruce Cumings goes further: He notes the contemporary parallels with the centralized power and rituals characteristic of Korea for centuries.Yes, as Nicholas Eberstadt argues, economic reforms in the North have been halfhearted. He even contends that foreign economic and humanitarian assistance have put offreal reform. (However, as John Park argues, pressures from economic sanctions may have moved North Korean and Chinese businesspeople to new forms of entrepreneurial activity.) Last but not least, Adam Johnson's novel portrays how concentration camps and perpetual anxiety over one's personal and family security remain constants in North Korea. His narrative comes to life in frequent reports of purges and executions in Pyongyang.But no, things are not always what they seem. To be sure, an entourage of old-timers and family friends escorted the hearse of Kim Jong-il in December 2011. Signs were that his chosen son and appointed successor, Kim Jong-un, would continue the dynastic system, assisted by an older regent, like the young kings Sejong (in 1418), Sunjo (in 1800), and Kojong (in 1864) before him. Within two years, however, many of the old-timers had been purged and the apparent regent executed for treason. While North Korea remains an Orwellian nightmare, the impact of cell phones and greater access to computers and other information sources can only erode the regime's centralized controls.Dynasties, bureaucracies, and political systems may hold fast, but surely the personality of the central dynasty is an important variable-one that can change the game in fundamental ways. Thus, Kim Jong-il seemed introverted but calculated in his decisionmaking. His son appears far more extroverted and-at least to some outsiders-reckless in both internal and foreign affairs. Who knows how important the wild card of personality will prove? As Terrence Roehig points out in the Park and Snyder anthology, Kim Jong-il elevated the Korean People's Army (KPA) to a much greater political role than before. If pushed too far, its leaders might try to oust the last remnant of the Kim dynasty and introduce a more sober form of governance. Alternatively, if the KPA remains obedient, Kim Jong-un might push his generals into actions that cross some red line of South Korean and US forbearance. …

Non-Traditional Security Issues of the Western Balkans: Actors, Causes and Implications

For the moment wars were over in the Balkans region, but insecurities caused by weak states constitute an important concern for stability of the region. Therefore, it is argued that insecurity predicament in the Western Balkans is best explained in terms of the „weak state‟. A weak state is defined not merely as one with inefficient institutions but one that is unable or unwilling to enforce rules or to implement consistent policies. Accordingly, the non-traditional security issues in the Balkans threaten the democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the stability and the economic progress within the region, even with an impact beyond the Balkans. In this process, violent non-state actors VNSA and their activities in spheres of drugs and human trafficking, terrorism, corruption, money laundering and the proliferation of small arms endanger security in its all levels - human, societal, national, regional and international. In this article, it will be aimed to examine the severity of VNSAs problems and their implications in Western Balkans with reference to the weak state concept

ASEAN at 46: Security Competition, Security Regime or Security Community?

Since its founding, there has been significant debate over the extent to which the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has succeeded in institutionalising reciprocal security cooperation in Southeast Asia. A review of the academic literature on the security dilemma, focussing on security regimes and security communities as sources of order in international politics, helps to frame a yardstick upon which the achievements of ASEAN may be assessed. In this regard, whilst ASEAN has not yet evolved into a security community, it may be argued that the association may be seen as a qualified success in promoting a security regime insofar as the norms of sovereignty are concerned. At the same time, however, the emergence of non-traditional security issues alongside the four new members of ASEAN highlight the need to expand the scope of the existing ASEAN security regime to encompass an expanded agenda for long-term security cooperation in the regime.

Beyond History: non-traditional security cooperation and the construction of Northeast Asian international society

This article takes the proposition that cooperation in the area of non-traditional security (NTS) can provide the essential window of opportunity for Northeast Asians to move beyond history. To demonstrate, it explores the development of NTS cooperation in Northeast Asia, paying particular attention to Sino–Japanese cooperation in the environmental and disaster areas. It then examines the relationship between NTS cooperation and the construction of a regional international society in Northeast Asia. It argues that the importance of NTS cooperation is twofold. First, in a region where historical animosities remain high, NTS issues can avoid sensitive areas and find common ground for cooperation that traditional security approaches would be unable to envisage. Second, NTS cooperation has turned people-to-people relations in a more prominent and conciliatory direction, and enhanced human security consideration, thus taking things further than the indirect consequences of functionalism.

Global maritime security studies: The rise of a geopolitical area of policy and research

Global maritime security has been a subject of analysis and debate in the West since the onset of the European expansion. This article distinguishes four main periods with regard to the doctrines and practices of global maritime security since c. 1450, during which the role of the state in relation to private actors has shifted. As a concept of global policy making, however, maritime security only emerged with the increasing importance of non-traditional security issues in the maritime sphere from around 1990. Maritime security studies has emerged in close connection with these developments, but in order to achieve intellectual excellence as a field of study, maritime security studies needs to distance itself from policy makers and industrial interests and develop an interdisciplinary research agenda based on in-depth studies of a broad range of traditional and non-traditional maritime security issues.

Regional Order by Other Means? Examining the Rise of Defense Diplomacy in Southeast Asia

This article seeks to address why and how defense diplomacy in Southeast Asia has risen in the past decade. By examining multilateral defense diplomacy under the auspices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), as well as Indonesia's bilateral defense diplomacy, this article makes three arguments. First, bilateral and multilateral defense diplomacy in Southeast Asia complement one another. Second, the focus of multilateral defense diplomacy has evolved and now reflects the blurring distinction between nontraditional and traditional security issues. Third, the rise of ARF's multilateral defense diplomacy can be attributed to the concern over China's rise, while ASEAN, considers it as among the key mechanisms to recover from the fallout of the 1996 Asian financial crisis and the recent regional arms development.

The Role of Nontraditional Security in China–US Relations: common ground or contradictory arena?

The China–US relationship is a multidimensional complex one involving both traditional and nontraditional security issues. However, nontraditional security issues (NTS) have become paramount in reshaping Sino–US relations, though there is no absolute boundary between NTS and traditional security. With both traditional security issues and NTS issues being solved according to the involved nations' prior experience in dealing with traditional security matters, it stands to reason that there is a very fine line, if that, between NTS and traditional security and that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Although the energy threat is more likely to be considered a traditional security matter than concerns such as the terrorism threat or climate change issue, the energy threat actually contains some NTS characteristics, like how to get full use of natural resources and the relevance with climate change. This article, to some extent, explains the dynamic between traditional and nontraditional security through the case study of China–US relations.

Bridging the gap: Interdisciplinary insights into the securitization of poverty

A significant body of literature within International Relations research attests to a securitization of poverty, since 9/11 especially, and within this process to the centrality of discourse. Remarkably, there has been little reciprocal work within Discourse Analysis to scrutinize the emergence of contemporary security agendas of non-traditional security issues and, as far as we were able to discern, nothing at all of the securitization of poverty. This article reports on part of a larger study into transatlantic representations of international poverty. It responds to the evident need of interdisciplinary research into the securitization of poverty by examining the discursive construction of poverty by United States administrations before and after 9/11. Adopting a Discourse Historical Analysis approach, we examine selected US National Security Strategies for evidence that supports or otherwise makes claims in International Relations literature for the American securitization of poverty. We ultimately conclude that they have engaged in a public discourse that represents poverty as a security issue, cast light upon how this is discursively legitimized and contend that 9/11 accelerated but did not cause this paradigm shift in the treatment of international poverty.

Evaluating Water Security in the Asia-Pacific Region: A New Approach Based on Vulnerability Indices

A specialist in non-traditional security issues in China and Southeast Asia outlines a new approach to investigating the emerging issue of water security in East Asia. The author develops a composite vulnerability index linking water availability with economic and social conditions, and applies the index to assess the effects of water supply constraints on 26 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper demonstrates that the index provides useful insights for further analyses, although additional work is needed before it can be considered fully reliable for forecasting purposes.

China’s Maritime Security Policy in the Indian Ocean: Assessment and Implication for Korea

China became the second largest economic power. But the gigantic growth of China has triggered another concern that it will project its influence around the Oceans in order to have maritime hegemony. Actually, China recently provoked conflicts with the Japan, Philippines, Vietnam as well as the U.S in South and East China Sea. However, it would be premature to decide that Chinese maritime security policy is quite offensive for securing maritime hegemony. This is because maritime environment in the Indian Ocean is quite different from that of the Pacific Ocean. First, in the Indian Ocean, there is no dominant maritime power, unlike in the Pacific Ocean where bilateral military alliances led by the U.S are playing a key role in maritime status quo. Second, there is much room for cooperation among nations because non-traditional security issues such as piracy, armed robbery against ships and illegal transportation of WMD cannot be tackled by one or some nations. Third, Africa becomes an attractive region to China for its national resources. Against this backdrop, China is pursuing ‘tailored strategy’ by becoming ‘multilateral’ and ‘cooperative’ in the Indian Ocean, while staying ‘unilateral’ and ‘conflicting’ in the Pacific Ocean. For example, China is trying to make a positive contribution to peacekeeping, disaster relief and count-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. Considering this, Korea should prepare multi-leveled maritime policy. At a bilateral level, Korea should consolidate military alliances with the U.S and Japan. At a multilateral level, it needs cooperation among nations to fight against non-traditional security threats like piracy. Finally, at a unilateral level, it should strengthen capability of navy forces by equipping with modernized equipment with cutting-edge technologies.

Indian Ocean maritime security: energy, environmental and climate challenges

For a comprehensive and meaningful understanding, the maritime-related security challenges facing the Indian Ocean littoral states need to be looked at broadly. Non-traditional security issues – from energy security and climate security to transnational terrorism and environmental degradation – are as important as traditional maritime security issues such as freedom of navigation, security of sea-lanes, maritime boundary and domain security, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and challenges to law and order (including piracy and sea robbery, criminal activities like drug, people and arms smuggling, illicit, unreported and unregulated fishing, illegal immigration, and maritime terrorism). The non-traditional issues extend to the maritime aspects of economic security, food security, environmental security and human security.

An Unconventional Tack: Nontraditional Security Concerns and China's "Rise"

This essay assesses recent Chinese scholarship on nontraditional security (NTS) issues, develops a new conceptual approach to NTS, and identifies challenges facing the Chinese state with regard to three core NTS concerns.

Introduction: Sixty Years of Foreign Policy in the PRC

[ 44 ] asia policy Introduction: Sixty Years of Foreign Policy in the PRC Xiao Ren & Travis Tanner October 1, 2009, marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Within the Chinese system for numbering years, the number 60 is of particular significance because it representsthecompletionofafullcycle.InreviewingthePRC’sfirstcompleted cycle, it is clear that China has undergone profound economic, political, and social changes that have transformed the country from one of the poorest and most underdeveloped in the world into a rapidly growing, globally integrated power. This transformation has been so comprehensive that many observers have been stunned by China’s advancements and by the fact that a country can change so dramatically in such a short period of time. As China sets its sights on the future and becomes an influential—if not yet driving—presence on the world stage, numerous questions and concerns regarding PRC’s foreign policy priorities persist. This roundtable features three essays examining different aspects of Chinese foreign policy decisionmaking. First, Allen Carlson explores how Chinese foreign policy elites view the various nontraditional security issues facing China (such as ecological/environmental security, terrorism, illegal immigration, transnational smuggling, economic development, population, and weapons proliferation). Second, Cheng Li explores the emergence and role of Westerneducated Chinese returnees in the formation of strategic thinking and foreign policy in China. Finally, Mark Frazier examines the linkages between the national economy and Chinese foreign policy and the degree to which domestic demand for natural resources influences foreign policy decisions. To place these three essays in perspective, this introduction overviews the first 60 years of PRC foreign policy and then looks ahead at China’s role in the world moving into the next cycle. xiao renis Associate Dean of the Institute of International Studies and Director of the Center for Chinese Foreign Policy Studies at Fudan University. He can be reached at . travis tanneris Director of the Pyle Center for Northeast Asian Studies at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). He can be reached at . note uThe papers in this roundtable were first presented at a conference organized by the Pyle Center for Northeast Asian Studies at The National Bureau of Asian Research in partnership with The Center for Chinese Foreign Policy Studies at Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies. The conference was convened in Shanghai, China, in October 2009, to examine the drivers and trends influencing Chinese foreign policy, particularly focusing on the recent global economic downturn and its implications for China’s economic and geopolitical outlook. The conference organizers would like to thank the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Ford Foundation for their support of this project. [ 45 ] roundtable • chinese foreign policy and domestic decisionmaking Six Decades of PRC Foreign Policy Though not all researchers agree on the exact division, the past 60 years of foreign policy in China can generally be split into two distinct 30-year periods. 1949 marked the rise of the new revolutionary state, setting in motion the first 30-year period, which was characterized by drastic changes in China’s relations with the world’s two major superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). During this period from 1949 to 1979, ideology played a key role in top-level decisionmaking, and this led to a poorly institutionalized system in which a small, insular group of high-level leaders made foreign policy decisions. Additionally, Mao Zedong’s personal proclivities greatly influenced China’s foreign policy decisionmaking, with domestic political considerations frequently determining the shape and direction of China’s outward diplomacy. Although in its earliest days, the PRC adopted a strategy of “leaning to one side” and allied itself with the Soviet Union, this alliance did not last and was terminated just over a decade later. Isolation from the region and the world, an ideological focus on aligning with the world’s other developing countries, and deep-rooted mistrust of the world’s major powers thus came to characterize this period. Two factors can be identified as the main causes of the dramatic change in the Sino-Soviet relationship. The first cause was the conflict between the Soviet Union’s aspirations to...