...An Unfinished Legacy by Marcus Noland, Peterson Institute for International Economics Paper prepared for the conference "Korea as a 21st Century Power" University of Cambridge April 3-6, 2002 © Peterson Institute for International Economics Introduction Since 1997 South Korea has been on an economic and political roller coaster. Between 1997 and 1998 forecasts of annual economic growth swung from +7 percent to -7 percent, and the country elected Kim Dae-jung, former dissident, future Nobel Peace Prize winner (and University of Cambridge honoree), and avowed economic reformer, president. However President Kim's weak electoral position—he was with only a plurality of support and forced to form a governing coalition with an ideologically dissimilar conservative party—and the continuing regional nature of South Korean politics have impeded the formation of a stable political coalition in favor of reform. Today, despite the enormous political power granted to the executive under the South Korea constitution, Kim is effectively a lame duck. Constitutionally limited to a single term, he confronts a hostile national assembly controlled by the political opposition, his personal popularity has fallen below 30 percent, and his party is trailing in public opinion polls in the run-up to December's presidential elections. Yet in spite of these challenges, a hundred other countries would envy the forecast of 5 percent growth and five percent unemployment in 2002. In the six months...
Words: 5866 - Pages: 24
...PART 1: INTRODUCTION The Korean peninsula is located at the eastern end of Asia, between China, Siberia (now part of the Russian Federation), and the islands of Japan. Because of the complex, shifting, and historic relations between these areas, as well as relations with other places such at the United Sates in more recent times, the history of Korea has been told in many ways and is still the subject of hot debate both inside and outside the Koreas. North and South Korea have different versions of the peninsula’s history, both of which differ in detail and perspective from histories written in China, Japan, Russia, and the USA. The following sections, which attempt to outline the history in a balanced way, are based on a variety of materials, including lectures attended in a special workshop on Korean culture at Korea University in the summer of 1997. Map of Korea The overall pattern of development in the history of the Korean peninsula is a process that begins with an unknown number of early tribal groups that populate the peninsula in prehistoric times, wandering out of Siberia and areas to the west. Over time, some of these groups form more complex societies that eventually result in early kingdoms that grow up on the peninsula; in some cases extending westwards into what is now Chinese territory. As time and events unfolded, these kingdoms were unified, though the borders and degree of unity have continued to change over time—down to today. Besides the obvious split between...
Words: 13044 - Pages: 53
...Japan in Asia: A Hard Case for Soft Power by Thomas U. Berger Thomas Berger is an associate professor of International Relations at Boston University. he concept of ‘‘soft power’’—defined by Joe Nye as ‘‘the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion’’1— has proven a seductive one for Japan. Since the concept was popularized in the 1990s, Japanese scholars and policymakers have enthusiastically taken it up, eagerly exploring how Japan’s soft power resources could be exploited to burnish Japan’s image in the world and help reshape its environment in subtle but important ways. Some—perhaps encouraged by the new attention given to the popularity of Japanese anime and manga, and by the general buzz about ‘‘Cool Japan’’—have even described Japan as a ‘‘Soft Power Superpower.’’2 It sometimes seemed, in more overheated moments, that Pokemon and Sailor Moon would conquer the world, succeeding where the Imperial Army and Navy had failed.3 That soft power would prove attractive is unsurprising. Although Japan has considerable hard power resources, it has shown great reluctance to actually use them in the way that students of international relations would T 1 The idea was originally advanced by in Joseph Nye, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (New York: Basic Books, 1990). He has since expanded on the concept in Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004). 2 See the very useful volume by...
Words: 8400 - Pages: 34
...Top Careers & You™ Economy/Business Wipro Tied up with Kana Software to Service Global Insurers General Knowledge GK Notes - September 1 Wipro Ltd. signed agreement with the US-based Kana Software to provide customer service solutions to its global insurers through a joint development centre. The agreement provides Kana with systems integration scalability, as Wipro has presence across 57 countries worldwide. Kana Software has its headquarters in California. It provides customer service solutions using cloud computing network to about 900 enterprises and mid-market organisations, which includes 250 government agencies all over the world. RBI Issued Norms for Currency Swap Window The Reserve Bank of India issued norms for currency swap window from Mumbai. The Reserve Bank also cleared that the facility of currency swap would be made available to scheduled commercial banks (excluding regional rural banks) for fresh Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank (FCNRB) deposits, which would be mobilised for a minimum tenure of three years. The Reserve Bank also mentioned that the deposits can be made in any permitted currency, but the swaps would be made available only in dollars. The Swap Window would remain functional and under operations on all working days at Mumbai on daily basis but a particular bank can access the facility of currency swap only once in a week. The Swap Window would remain operation from 10 September to 30 November 2013. th th Currency Swap A foreign...
Words: 4338 - Pages: 18
...RETHINKING THE EAST ASIAN MIRACLE JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ AND SHAHID YUSUF Editors RETHINKING THE EAST ASIA MIRACLE JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ AND SHAHID YUSUF Editors A copublication of the World Bank and Oxford University Press i Oxford University Press Oxford • New York • Athens • Auckland • Bangkok • Bogotá • Buenos Aires • Calcutta • Cape Town • Chennai • Dar es Salaam • Delhi • Florence • Hong Kong • Istanbul • Karachi • Kuala Lumpur • Madrid • Melbourne • Mexico City • Mumbai • Nairobi • Paris • São Paulo • Singapore • Taipei • Tokyo • Toronto • Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin • Ibadan © 2001 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, USA Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Cover design and interior design by Naylor Design, Washington, D.C. Manufactured in the United States of America First printing June 2001 1 2 3 4 04 03 02 01 The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this study are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations...
Words: 190305 - Pages: 762
...China Fragile Superpower This page intentionally left blank Fragile Superpower Susan L. Shirk China 2007 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2007 by Susan L. Shirk Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shirk, Susan L. China: fragile superpower / by Susan L. Shirk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-530609-5 1. Nationalism—China. 2. China—Politics and government—2002– I. Title. JC311.S525 2007 320.951—dc22 2006027998 135798642 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper For Sam, Lucy, and David Popkin This page intentionally left...
Words: 135807 - Pages: 544
