East-West Center expertise and research findings are published by the East-West Center and by presses and collaborating organizations throughout the region and the world. Publications address a range of critical issues in the Asia Pacific region.
Search for East-West Center publications from the past 10 years, plus a few older titles. Download free PDF files, when available.
Deep-sea exploration projects have identified valuable deposits of gold, silver, copper, nickel, and cobalt across the Pacific—both in the open ocean under international jurisdiction and in the territorial waters of several Pacific Island...
Kaewkamol Karen Pitakdumrongkit, Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that “The economic priorities agreed to at the 32nd ASEAN summit can be seen as parts of the regional states’ efforts to enhance their economic...
The Arctic in World Affairs: A North Pacific Dialogue on Emerging Arctic Issues and Policy Responses addresses four major themes in the book: (1) Arctic policies in a global context; (2) implications of the Paris agreement for the Arctic...
The Arctic in World Affairs: A North Pacific Dialogue on Building Capacity for a Sustainable Arctic in a Changing Global Order addresses five major themes relating to the Arctic: the impacts of a changing global order; responsible economic...
What happens to local farmers in the highlands of Southeast Asia as the land they cultivated for centuries is transformed into rubber plantations? In China, Thailand, and Vietnam, many have been able to grow rubber, and some have become wealthy. In...
Additional titles in theAsia Matters for America series
Published during the 50th anniversary of ASEAN and the 40th anniversary of US-ASEAN dialogue partnership, ASEAN Matters for America/America Matters for ASEAN covers US relations with the 10...
Kavi Chongkittavorn, Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that “All in all, it is incumbent on ASEAN to reach out to the United States, Japan, India, and Australia”
Additional titles in the Asia...
Dr. David Scott explains that “The Joint Declaration represents the convergence between Australia’s espousal of Indo-Pacific frameworks first seen in its 2013 Defense White Paper, and American espousal of “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”...
Additional titles in the Policy Studies series
The United States and China have followed nearly parallel paths as providers of foreign aid over the past seven decades. Although both programs were ostensibly aimed at Third World economic development...
Cooperation between AI sectors in China and the United States would yield substantial benefits, not only for both economies but worldwide. In the absence of constructive government leadership, it is up to global AI communities—in research...
Shaun Breslin, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, explains that "even as other enterprises and actors become more active in overseas investment projects around the world, state priorities and...
Gatra Priyandita, PhD Candidate at Australian National University, explains that "Debates on Chinese labor in Indonesia are not new, though only in recent years has the topic emerged as an important and contentious election issue." ...
Surupa Gupta, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Mary Washington University, explains that "While Modi has repeatedly spoken against rising protectionism at international venues, his...
SUMMARY | The Counting Women's Work (CWW) initiative is measuring the full economic contribution of women, including paid work in the marketplace and unpaid care and housework at home. This issue of the NTA Bulletin describes...
Dr. Iati Iati, Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago, New Zealand explains that “Reforms, particularly those which involve or even intimate alienation of customary lands, have been very unpopular in the Pacific.”
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Ellen L. Frost, Senior Advisor and Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that "A key question is whether the strategies employed by current Indo-Pacific governments are working well enough to be both competitive in the new...
Chheang Vannarith, Visiting Fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, explains that "International economic cooperation and regional integration are key principles of Cambodia’s foreign policy."
Additional titles in the Asia Pacific...
Japan’s dramatic transformation from economic success to economic stagnation offers important policy lessons to advanced countries everywhere that are struggling with stagnation. The term 'Japanization' is often used by economists to describe...
This book explores the history of leading national universities in Asia and contemplates their capacity for innovation by focusing on the New Flagship University model. This model, presented more fully in The Flagship University Model — Changing...
Each year, the East-West Center and the Korea Maritime Institute publish a volume of proceedings providing a comprehensive record of the most recent NPAC session. These volumes are available both in print and in digital form for those who wish to...
Three-fourths of Hawai'i's reef fish species are seriously depleted. To preserve and build back these populations, government policymakers and community leaders need to know how many fish are actually harvested every year. Reported sales...
In today's dangerous climate, the United States ought to use every option available to engage North Korea in a positive way. While North Korea's nuclear tests and missile launches provoke threats, private charitable organizations in the United...
Drs. Amitendu Palit and Shutaro Sano, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, and Professor at the National Defense Academy of Japan, respectively, explain that “From the perspectives of both India and Japan, the Free...
Jeremy Ellero, Research Associate at the Law and Economics Research Laboratory at the University of New Caledonia, explains that “Massive financial transfers combined with tariffs and quotas on imported goods have created...
Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) has the highest maternal mortality ratio in Southeast Asia, with 197 women dying in 2015 from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth for every 100,000 live births. Most of these deaths could be...
China has developed a master plan to transform its vast manufacturing base from low-cost export production to highly automated advanced manufacturing. Serious questions remain, however, about the future of China's large, low-wage labor force...
Additional titles in theAsia Matters for America series
India Matters for America/America Matters for India covers US relations with India in areas such as trade and investment, security, travel and tourism, education exchanges, and sister...
Dr. Jagannath Panda, Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, explains that “India’s notion of a regional order in the Indo-Pacific is most importantly associated with the “Beijing Consensus...
Vibhanshu Shekhar, Former Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that “These incomplete projects highlight a fundamental difference between the posture and reality and raise questions over India’s ability to...
Shutaro Sano, Professor and Deputy Director at the Center for International Exchange, National Defense Academy of Japan, explains that "A more developed and secure Central Asia is also expected to provide Tokyo with a reliable alternative...
Vinay Kaura, Assistant Professor at Sardar Patel University in Rajastan, explains that “Modi and President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo agreed to elevate the India-Indonesia relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.”
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The rapid growth of many East and Southeast Asian economies has been fueled primarily by exports to the United States and other economies outside the region, but the financial crises of 1997 and 2008 ushered in a broader concept of regional economic...
An estimated 70 percent of women-owned small enterprises in developing countries lack access to the financing they need to grow their business, create jobs, and contribute to economic growth. And yet recent research demonstrates that a...
Michito Tsuruoka, Associate Professor at Keio University, Japan, explains that “Brexit overshadows the otherwise remarkable progress in Japan-UK ties.”
Additional titles in the Asia Pacific Bulletin series
The speed and...
Additional titles in theAsia Matters for America series
Korea Matters for America/America Matters for Korea covers US relations with the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in areas such as trade and investment, security, travel and tourism,...
Recent increases in health rights litigation in low- and middle-income countries triggered debates regarding the effects of such litigation on the equity and effectiveness of health systems. Proponents argued that such litigation promotes health...
Takuya Matsuda, PhD Student at King's College in London, explains that "'Indo-Pacific' is a concept that emerged as a culmination of policy choices made since the mid-1990s to incorporate India into the US strategic framework in the Western...
Prashanth Parameswaran, Senior Editor at The Diplomat Magazine, Washington, DC, explains that “The advent of a new government could result in some shifts in how the Southeast Asian state conceives of its security environment, how it finances...
Dr. Hanizah Idris, Head of the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Malaya, explains that “Asian container trade accounted for almost 60 percent share of world container throughput... Malaysia has adapted quickly” ...
Thomas Daniel, Analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia, explains that “In Malaysia’s May 2018 elections, foreign policy appears to have been a significant part of the campaign.”
Additional...
SUMMARY | As North Korea gets closer to deploying working nuclear missiles, it is more important than ever to dispense with four common misunderstandings. First, characterizations of the regime as irrational are wrong....
Khin Zaw Min, Director of the Tampadipa Institute, explains that “Geography and history favor the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, but politics do not.”
Additional titles in the Asia Pacific Bulletin series
Myanmar’s...
Malaysia's May 2018 General Election and Foreign Policy
Thomas Daniel, Analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia, explains that “In Malaysia’s May 2018 elections, foreign policy appears to have...
The United States Pacific Command, or PACOM, controls the strongest military force in the Asia Pacific region, making it perhaps the region’s most important organization. Based in Hawai‘i, PACOM describes its mission as defending US interests...
Cleo Paskal, Associate Fellow, Chatham House and Director at The Oceania Research Project (protorp.org) curates a special series of Asia Pacific Bulletins regarding key issues facing Oceania in 2018.
Strategic Overview of...
When Continental Air Micronesia inaugurated regular jet air service to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in the late 1960s, it created new links between the Islands and both the US mainland and East Asia. The new flight service opened...
Northern Myanmar's Kachin State, which borders China, has been splintered for decades by fighting between ethnic-based armed rebel groups and the national military. Over the past 10 years, the government has increased control over the region by...
Ehito Kimura, Associate Professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, explains that “populism is not just a movement but also a political strategy.”
Additional titles in the Asia Pacific Bulletin series
Indonesia’s...
Tommy K. S. Koh, former Summer Affiliate Scholar at the East-West Center, explains that “Written as an opposition manifesto, Buku Harapan’s desire for greater parliamentary engagement reflected what Pakatan Harapan desired from an expected...
This paper presents background and resource information used to develop the formal report for the Inaugural 2017 Women20 for the G20 Asia-Pacific Dialogue, hosted by the East-West Center and sponsored by the global professional services...
This edited volume examines the importance of quality issues in contemporary higher education systems in the Asia Pacific. Part One foregrounds relevant discussions of 'quality' within today's globalized, interconnected, and complex higher...
A study of time-series data derived from satellite images tracked land use and land-use change in Southeast Asia from 2003 to 2014. The study focused on an area more than twice the size of France where land-use change has been most dramatic—all of...
A National Transfer Accounts (NTA) project based at the East-West Center has worked with national teams to analyze population and economic data in 15 low- and middle-income countries of Asia—Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran...
Kaewkamol Karen Pitakdumrongkit, Visiting Fellow, East-West Center in Washington, explains that "While internal tensions would be unlikely to make the Kingdom turn its backs on ASEAN’s pursuit of regional integration, they could distract its...
Ithrana Lawrence, Former Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that “Although recognized as a major non-NATO US ally since 2003, the Philippines increasingly views China as an important and economically attractive...
SUMMARY | One possible way to address the North Korean nuclear threat is by beginning a series of incremental steps to gradually lessen tension and lead to eventual peace on the Korean Peninsula. Such steps could include...
John Hemmings, Director of the Asia Studies Centre at The Henry Jackson Society in London, asks “Will [these relationships] actually deter would-be aggressors when all is said and done?”
Additional titles in the Asia Pacific...
Ambassador C. Steven McGann (Ret), former US Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu, explains that “This well-documented commitment to the Pacific should be the context in which the United States frames its regional...
Tham Siew Yeanl, Senior Fellow at ISEAS, Singapore, explains that “There are dimensions to China's investment that may not be so obvious to the public eye.”
Additional titles in the Asia Pacific Bulletin series
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The United States benefits from international trade, and Asia and the United States have a mutually beneficial and deepening economic relationship. A byproduct of that deepening economic integration, however, is a tendency toward increased...
Denghua Zhang, Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington, explains that “Despite their vast differences in aid policies and practices, in recent years China and the United States have conducted trilateral aid cooperation in...
Dr. Wenhong Chen, Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center, explains that “ In the pursuit of the Chinese Dream — a narrative of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people — China has been purposefully and skillfully developing AI, Big...
Mampei Hayashi, Associate Professor at the Kansai University of International Relations, explains that “the United States and Japan have expanded their alliance to cooperate in the emergency response and early recovery phases following a number...
Standard measures of economic activity leave out one extremely important component of production and consumption―the unpaid care and household services most often provided by women. Unpaid services―such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for...
When young people leave the village, the immediate result is a labor shortage that affects both farming and the natural environment. In principle, remittances from migrants could be used to hire labor and purchase agricultural inputs, but...
To reduce the pressure on government budgets associated with population aging, Andrew Mason of the East-West Center and Ronald Lee of the Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at the University of California at Berkeley recommend...
SUMMARY | In not a single country has gender equality yet been achieved in practice. Worse still, in 9 out of 10 countries laws discriminate against women's ability to be economically active. This despite all 193 UN member...
Research demonstrates as much as $28 trillion could be added to the global economy by 2025 if all countries bridged the gender gap—a magnitude equivalent to the combined US and China economies today. As Asia-Pacific G20 members represent close to...
