EWC Insights: Asia-Pacific Transitions
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
2:00 - 3:00 PM HST
Hybrid (In-Person & Virtual)

Non-Traditional Security Cooperation 
for Comprehensive Peacebuilding in East Asia

featuring
Prof. Brendan M. Howe
POSCO Visiting Fellow
East-West Center

Speaker’s Summary:
East Asia (including both Northeast and Southeast Asia) is a region deeply affected by conflict. Colonial, ideological, and national wars have left their scars and legacies, including disputed borders and divided loyalties. There is no collective security apparatus, and much of the security architecture is a product of the Hub and Spokes system of bilateral security alliances with the United States. Non-traditional security issues offer new challenges. They also, however, offer new opportunities for cooperation and empower rising second-tier powers to take the lead. This talk will highlight the role of such actors in transforming conflictual relationships and building comprehensive peace in East Asia. 

Professor Brendan Howe is a POSCO Fellow in the Research Program at the East-West Center. His work focuses on the evolution of traditional and non-traditional security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, with a particular emphasis on human security and comprehensive peacebuilding in Northeast and Southeast Asia. He has researched and published extensively on the rise of new actors and issues in the field. He has worked at Ewha Womans University in South Korea for over 20 years and is currently the Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies. He has held visiting fellowships and professorships in China, Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines, Germany, and Japan. 

The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect East-West Center policies or positions.