Region
East Asia
How the Beijing Winter Olympics Help Boost the Chinese Communist Party’s Legitimacy
By Yan Bennett and John Garrick
Far from being non-political, the Games are a potent political symbol of the Chinese state’s ambitions and authority.
China’s Digital Power: Impact on the EU
By Mercy A. Kuo
Insights from Tim Rühlig.
South Korea-US Economic Ties Are Changing
By Tom Byrne
Amid supply chain worries and high-tech competition, there has been a distinct shift in the tenor of the business relationship between Seoul and Washington.
South Korea’s Shift Away From Reunification Is a Bad Sign for the Korean Peninsula
By Eunwoo Lee
South Koreans increasingly reject reunification with the North amid intensifying hostility and indifference. But inter-Korean relations that prioritize economic ties over reconciliation easily fall prey to global geopolitics.
Finland’s China Shift
By Matti Puranen and Jukka Aukia
Once China’s model partner for engagement with the West, Finland is updating its China policies and seeking wider cooperation with the EU and like-minded partners.
Japan: The Ministry That Cried Wolf
By Richard Katz
Japan's Finance Ministry has been predicting a government bond crash since the 70s.
North Korea’s Ticking COVID-19 Time Bomb
By Justin Fendos
Like many nations, North Korea’s initial calculation may have been that there would be an eventual end to the pandemic.
Will China’s Tall Space Goals Spur Further Competition?
By Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
While China’s white paper on space is a good transparency move, the goals enshrined in the document may also make space more competitive.
The Rise and Fall of Democracy With Chinese Characteristics
By Zhuoran Li
Despite Beijing’s recent attempts to sell its own version of democracy, China’s “consultative democracy” has been on a downslide since Xi came to power.
Small Firms Will Determine South Korea’s Economic Future
By Yong Kwon
The chaebol spearheaded the country’s rapid industrialization, but it’s SMEs that will keep South Korea’s economy driving forward in the digital era.
F-15 Crash Highlights Japan’s Aging Aircraft
By Kosuke Takahashi
The incident casts a shadow on the pace of Japan’s F-15 upgrade program.
What Putin and Xi Said (and Didn’t Say) About Ukraine
By Shannon Tiezzi
The two leaders reaffirmed the "no limits" friendship between China and Russia in their first in-person meeting since 2019 – but they notably danced around the topic of Ukraine.