Amir Houshang Atiabi’s Post

In this week's CAS Commentary, I discuss the historical parallels between China's rise today and that of Imperial Germany in the early 20th century - as well as the rising powers' burdensome allies. Enjoy!

Korea: A New History of South & North Center for Strategic & International Studies 21 Sept 2023 The Capital Cable Please join us for a special episode of The Capital Cable as we talk about Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo's new book, Korea: A New History of South & North.  Korea has a long, riveting history—it is also a divided nation. South Korea is a vibrant democracy, the tenth largest economy, and is home to a world-renowned culture. North Korea is ruled by the most authoritarian regime in the world, a poor country in a rich region, and is best known for the cult of personality surrounding the ruling Kim family. But both Koreas share a unique common history. Victor Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo draw on decades of research to explore the history of modern Korea, from the late nineteenth century, Japanese occupation, and Cold War division to the present day. A small country caught amongst the world’s largest powers—including China, Japan, Russia, and the United States—Korea’s fate has been closely connected to its geography and the strength of its leadership and society. This comprehensive history sheds light on the evolving identities of the two Koreas, explaining the sharp differences between North and South, and prospects for unification.

Today's edition of Discourse Power features a translation of China's former special envoy to the Middle East Ambassador Wu Sike's recent interview for the Globe, Xinhua's biweekly magazine, where they discuss new "trends" affecting the Middle East. Given the identity of the speaker and the platform, it is worth your time because Wu channels the Party’s voice, and it is a good overview of China's official position on the war at this point. Read it in the link: https://lnkd.in/dguFRTir

For a study of Captain Ho Weng Toh and others in Singapore's history, read Ernest Koh's Diaspora at War (Singapore during WWII wasn't just the battle and the Japanese Occupation): https://lnkd.in/gVhS4Fxg

"US Landpower and an Indo-American Alliance." This article explores the importance of US landpower and an Indo-American alliance to the growing challenge of China’s pursuit of hegemony over Asia. https://lnkd.in/eX5zb5Zq

Discussing the inherent challenges and potential solutions in the US-China relationship, this clip delves into how the 21st century will be marked by multipolarity, with the US and China as leading forces. Examining the strategic maneuvers, it calls for cooperation and mutual understanding as keys to geographic and ideological harmony.

Read below to further understand: right now, the US is taking its time, so that the Iranian strikes, which have been paved for and fully justifiable now, will end in the desired results. Iranians are just waiting for the green right. The striking plan and the volume and amount and the targets have all been determined by the Americans and handed to Iran to execute. This is fun for me to watch. Knowing what the Israeli response, the US has prepared the post plan and distributed the roles among its puppets in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, in addition to the main puppet of Iran. I am certain beyond doubt that Jordan and all GCC countries are feeling the heat climbing fast. Israel? What Israel? The US is working on how post-Israel Middle East will look like. Again: read below to fully understand.

Understanding China: Myths & Realities This summary report by Hugh Miall, with the Toda Peace Institute, gives an overview of a meeting with Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian and international scholars and Diplomats, to discuss the prospects for stable peace in Northeast Asia. The Toda Peace Institute convened this meeting with the aim of exploring ways to avoid violent conflict between China and the US and its allies and to advance cooperation in the region. https://lnkd.in/eKU8puQM

My other new article is now available for download at the link below. This research was extra meaningful to me as it let me engage with the topic that got me interested in Korean contemporary history: the Gwangju Democracy Movement. My article seeks to answer two questions: 1) why did the US engage in public diplomacy about and release a statement in 1989 on its role in the events of May 1980 and 2) were the statement and other public diplomacy efforts successful? On the first question, I show concern about rising anti-American sentiment and anger over misinformation campaigns by the Chun Doo Hwan regime drove the U.S. to explain its position on what happened during the Gwangju Democracy Movement. But, my answer to the second question is the attempts to convince Korean society the U.S. was not complicit in the violence failed. The main issue was that the Korean people saw the U.S. has a powerful entity that sanctioned Korean political leaders and controlled events in Korea while U.S. officials saw themselves as having limited influence in Korea. These mismatched perceptions on the role and influence of the U.S. made it largely impossible for Koreans to accept the U.S. statement. The article is free to download. I hope it can provide a fresh look on this deeply important issue. https://lnkd.in/g_RYhmA5

Excellent interview and discussion about the decline of western powers, union of south/east-asian countries, #NATO-missteps, #Ukraine-#Russia war and the increasing power of #China, #BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (#SCO). Highly recommended to see.