Asia
A New World Order? Careful What You Wish For
This paper examines the persistent attractions of the idea of a world order, and whether one may be said to exist today. It argues that we are now in a world adrift or, at best, between orders. It suggests that this may mark a return to the historical norm and…
Trade, Technology, & the US–Korea Alliance: A Conversation with Ambassador Kang
Sheena Chestnut Greitens sat down with Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha, the Republic of Korea’s ambassador to the United States. Recorded before a live audience at The University of Texas at Austin on December 3, the conversation explores the deepening alignment…
Cold War Lessons for Export Controls Against China
We sit down with Dartmouth national security scholars Jennifer Lind and Michael Mastanduno as they compare Cold War export control strategies with modern attempts to limit China's access to sensitive US technologies. They delve into key lessons from the…
US Policy Toward North Korea: Quo Vadis?
As the Trump administration recalibrates America’s global priorities, containing Pyongyang should be at the top of its agenda. Despite the progress of North Korea's illicit weapons programs, the United States should still pursue its longstanding goal of…
Hard Then, Harder Now: CoCom’s Lessons and the Challenge of Crafting Effective Export Controls Against China
Will the US-led technology control regime against China have a meaningful impact on the emerging great power competition? Supporters praise the effort’s targeted approach and optimistically see the case as a prime example of weaponized interdependence. But…
So What? Reassessing the Military Implications of Chinese Control of Taiwan
China and the United States are locked in an intensifying security competition, much of it revolving around—but increasingly transcending—Taiwan's continued autonomy. The operational value of a Chinese-controlled Taiwan has been cited as one reason for the…
Lost Seoul? Assessing Pyongyang’s Other Deterrent
For decades the North Korean military has fallen ever further behind its South Korean and US rivals. Unable to compete symmetrically on the battlefield, Pyongyang has enhanced its military’s ability to coerce the South. In addition to its nuclear program,…
The Main Drivers of Soviet Foreign Policy Towards India, 1955–1991
India is a case study for how the Soviet Union tried to use the Third World and decolonization to advance its geostrategic position in the Cold War world. From Nikita Khrushchev’s celebrated visit to India in 1955 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in…
Filling the Void Left by Great-Power Retrenchment: Russia, Central Asia, and the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending in August 2021, created favorable conditions for Russia to reassert itself as a regional hegemon in broader Central Asia. Historically, as great powers retrench from a territory, the resulting void can be filled…
Just Do It: Explaining the Characteristics and Rationale of Chinese Economic Sanctions
While most economic sanctions are explicitly announced, Chinese economic sanctions tend to be vague — not explicitly announced. China rarely threatens sanctions — instead, it directly executes them. What explains these vague and executed Chinese sanctions?…
Estimating China’s Defense Spending: How to Get It Wrong (and Right)
China’s defense spending is opaque, and China spends more on defense than its official 2024 defense budget of 1.67 trillion yuan ($232 billion) indicates. Some analysts claim China’s defense spending is equivalent to $700 billion, approaching the level of…
Book Review Roundtable: The Other Great Game in Asia
At this time of growing concerns about tensions in East Asia and great-power competition, TNSR brought together four experts to review "The Other Great Game: The Opening of Korea and the Birth of Modern East Asia" by Sheila Miyoshi Jager. Jaehan Park, Paul…