Strategic Analysis

Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP): Thailand’s Emic Approach to Governance and Development as Evidence of an Asian Value-Oriented Inclusive Leadership Management Philosophy

Thailand has been at the core of the Asian Values debate since the 1992 World Conference on Human Rights. Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) is a concept developed by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej to consolidate his approach to governance and development. Integrating values borrowed from Theravada Buddhism such as benevolence, emphasis on the middle way and on the public good. This article explores the development of SEP focussing on the role of values and leadership styles.

Otto Federico von Feigenblatt , Malcolm Cooper , Phillip Pardo |
July 2022 |
Strategic Analysis

Asianism – The Indian Sub-Text

Going by the economic growth patterns of China, India, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN countries with corresponding decline in the Western economic heft, it was often claimed that the 21st century will be the Asian Century. This might be in doubt due to the pandemic and geopolitical contestation between China and the US, where new faultlines are being drawn. Moreover, India and China being in a potential conflict zone, the dream of the Asian Century might have receded even further.

Sanpo-Yoshi and Corporate Social Responsibility in Japan

Discussion on Asia and Asian values is conspicuously absent from existing research in global capitalist society. In order to foster critical debates on ‘Asianism Retold’, we explore how Asian traditional value has been integrated into the contemporary business system. By examining Japan’s traditional values—Sanpo-yoshi, this article explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Asian values.

Yoshiki Shinohara , Rebecca Chunghee Kim |
July 2022 |
Strategic Analysis

Becoming Asian: Asianness as the Counter-Power Among Japanese Migrants

The complexity of connectivity is reflected in the migrant’s socialization process. Whilst the socialization process in transnational spaces often leads to further ethnic divisiveness, Japanese migrants who had opportunities to encounter Asian Others gradually embraced an overarching Asian identity in Dublin. The shared liminal status of migrants in the local society contributed to the forging of an emotional pan-Asian solidarity and acted as a form of migrant identity against hegemonic whiteness.

Asianism as Many Altogether: Cosmopolitanism and the Asian Political Imaginary

In this article, I seek to understand the pre-European diversity of Asia as a recoverable ideal for a new Asianism, one that takes cosmopolitanism, plurality, and the concrete presence of the Other seriously, as modes of ‘reimperializing’ Asia based on Asian traditions of moral and cultural imagination.

Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Partnership with the United States: Fraying at the Margins?

The strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the US withstood the test of time despite occasional challenges. Even as the US dependence on Gulf oil weaned, the partnership continued due to foreign policy convergences and the security nexus. The Arab Spring uprisings challenged the partnership leading to foreign policy divergences. While the US looked for reducing its regional commitments, the Kingdom diversified relations with emerging powers.

All Roads Lead to North: Nepal’s Turn to China

Amish Raj Mulmi’s All Roads Lead to North vividly and eloquently captures the growing Chinese inroads into Nepal. Growing Chinese influence is visible not just in the northern-most border villages and transit checkposts of the Sino-Nepalese border at Tatopani, Rasuwagadhi or Humala in the rugged Himalayas, but also in the palace, parliament and the lives of people on the streets of Kathmandu. The author has diligently and skilfully recorded this enormous yet invisible process in its minutest detail, exposing how it is exerting pressure on the tranquillity of Nepali life.

Japan’s Security Reforms under Abe Shinzo: Setting the Stage for Proactivism in the Indo-Pacific?

As the longest-serving Prime Minister so far, Abe Shinzo will be remembered for the unprecedented shifts he brought about in Japan’s security policies, which will most likely have a lasting impact. From creating new institutions to fundamental changes in decision-making and from constructing a new framework for defense strategy and acquisition of offensive military capabilities to deftly managing the alliance with the US, Abe has left an indelible mark. He also came up with the Indo-Pacific construct and the Quad, which have become the key facets of regional security.

Cyber Technological Paradigms and Threat Landscape in India

In a discipline struggling to define even fundamental concepts like cyberspace and cyber threats, Ramnath Reghunadhan’s Cyber Technological Paradigms and Threat Landscape in India is a remarkable work to make sense of India’s efforts and challenges in cyberspace. The book by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras scholar is explanatory in nature and provides rich, collated, and specific information for cyber researchers working on India’s cyber policy.

US-China Strategic Competition and Converging Middle Power Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

The 21st century’s central economic nexus will be centred on the Indo-Pacific region. Simultaneously, the intensifying US-China competition in the Indo-Pacific is deepening. Regional middle powers must negotiate this competition to ensure their interests remain intact. This article applies a realist framework to analyse the strategic alignment of Australia, Japan, and India in response to the great power competition. It examines the strategy each middle power is pursuing to protect their interests and the motivations behind their approaches.