Researcher
Wrenn Yennie Lindgren
Contactinfo and files
Summary
Wrenn Yennie Lindgren is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of Center for Asian Research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), as well as an Associate Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI).
Her main research interests are: foreign policy analysis, international relations in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific, the politics and foreign policy of Japan, and Asia-Arctic diplomacy.
Recent research projects have focused on: Japan’s foreign and security policy legitimation; infrastructure power and responses to China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI); Japan’s multilateral engagement, including NATO-Japan relations; identity politics in Sino-Japanese relations; Japan-Russia energy cooperation; Japan’s engagement in Southeast Asia; and alternative alignments in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, since joining NUPI in 2013, Wrenn has worked on issues related to Asia-Arctic diplomacy.
Wrenn currently leads the multi-year project Roads to Power? The political effects of infrastructure projects in Asia (ROADS) , funded by The Research Council of Norway. She also co-leads the international research project ‘Coercive and Emotional Diplomacy in East Asia: Japanese Responses’, funded by Nordforsk, and co-developed and participates in the projects Chinese Anger Diplomacy (ANGER) and China and Evolving Multilateral Craftmanship in the Age of Digitalization (CHIMULTI), both funded by The Research Council of Norway.
Wrenn’s peer-reviewed work has appeared in, inter alia, The Pacific Review, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Asian Perspective, Asian Politics & Policy, Polar Geography and Journal of Eurasian Studies. She co-edited the volume China and Nordic Diplomacy (Routledge, 2018) and contributed chapters on Japan to the volume Kinship in International Relations (Routledge, 2018) and The Routledge Handbook of Arctic Security (Routledge, 2020).
Wrenn holds a PhD in International Relations from Stockholm University and master's degrees in International Policy Studies (Monterey Institute of International Studies, U.S.) and Asia and Middle East Studies (University of Oslo). She has extensive fieldwork experience in Japan and was a Japan Foundation Fellow at Meiji University from 2018-2019 and visiting fellow at Waseda University`s Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies (GSAPS) in Tokyo.
Expertise
Education
2016-2021 Stockholm University, PhD in International Relations
2018-2019 Visiting Researcher and Japan Foundation Fellow, Meiji University, Tokyo
2012-2014 University of Oslo, MPhil Asia and Middle East Studies
2007-2011 Monterey Institute of International Policy Studies, MA International Policy Studies
2009-2010 Waseda University Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Tokyo, Visiting Graduate Student
2008-2009 The Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies, Stanford University, Yokohama
2004-2007 Pepperdine University, BA International Studies and French
Work Experience
2021- Senior Research Fellow, NUPI
2017- Associate Fellow, Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI)
2013-2021 Research Fellow, NUPI
2016-2017 Visiting Research Fellow, Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI)
2011-2013 Communication Consultant, Freelance
2011 Junior Fellow, Office of the Rector, United Nations University (UNU), Tokyo
2010 APEC Liaison, Economic Section, U.S. Embassy Tokyo, U.S. Department of State
2010 Intern, Political Section, U.S. Embassy Tokyo, U.S. Department of State
2007-2008 Graduate Research Assistant, East Asia Nonproliferation Program, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
2005-2007 Teaching Assistant, French Department, Pepperdine University
2006 Intern Analyst, International Affairs and Trade Section, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Aktivitet
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Clear all filtersLike Grandfather, Like Grandson: Kinship as a legitimating force in Japan’s International Relations
This chapter discusses the entrenched trend of hereditary politicians in Japanese politics and how kinship is used as a legitimating force in Japan’s international relations. It illuminates how one Japanese leader has invoked his kinship to both legitimate and promote Japan’s history and foreign policy in diplomatic exchanges. While dynasties in Japanese politics are clearly a domestic issue, the activation of those kinship properties on diplomatic trips across the world transforms them into an inter-state subject.
New Dynamics in Japan-Russia Energy Relations 2011-2017
Since the triple disaster in Japan in 2011, the energy dimension of Japan-Russia relations in the Russian Far East (RFE) has developed at a more rapid pace. The integration of the energy markets of the world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, Japan, and major energy exporter, Russia, has paralleled a warmer bilateral political climate and been accelerated by Russia’s turn to the East. In the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis, the globe’s energy landscape has been significantly altered and both Russia and Japan have faced constraints economically and in terms of bilateral cooperation. Questions remain about how bilateral energy relations will develop in the face of competition from Japan’s traditional energy suppliers and ongoing Japanese government efforts to diversify energy sources. Is energy prompting a stronger bilateral political bond or just fostering a limited partnership in this area? In considering the consequences of the Fukushima and Ukraine crises on Japan-Russia energy relations and the energy dimension of Russia’s pivot to Asia, the topic is placed in a wider context of new dynamics in Japan-Russia relations.
Japan and Norway: Elevated Economic, Geopolitical and Gender Equality Cooperation on the Horizon
Op-ed: Bilateral ties between Tokyo and Oslo are set to converge, with multiple areas for cooperation.
The Duty of Care for Citizens Abroad: Security and Responsibility in the In Amenas and Fukushima Crises
This article analyses the state’s duty of care (DoC) for citizens who fall victim to unforeseen catastrophic or violent events abroad. The DoC highlights the challenges, dynamics and relations involved in diplomatic practice that is aimed at protecting citizens outside of state borders and where traditional security concepts have little relevance. How has a globalized, more insecure world — with shifting relations and responsibilities among states, their subordinates and other carers — affected the provision of DoC? How do governments and private actors act on the DoC during and after crises? To illustrate, the article draws on the terrorist attack at a gas facility in Algeria in 2013 and the nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, focusing particularly on the Norwegian framework and approach to protecting citizens abroad. In both crises, implementing the DoC required practical skills and measures beyond traditional diplomacy and institutionalized crisis mechanisms.
China and Nordic Diplomacy
This book seeks to explore Nordic approaches to China and the idea of sub-regional diplomacy. China’s multi-tiered approach to Europe can be seen vividly in the Nordic sub-region, which has been engaging Beijing through a variety of different means corresponding to the political and economic structures found in the Nordic states. In some areas, a specific Nordic approach can be observed, including areas related to economic cooperation, Arctic diplomacy and institution-building. However, the Nordic states also have widely differing historical experiences with China leading up to the present day. Each of the Nordic states has also had to balance their China relations with those of the EU and other major players such as the US. With case studies on the EU, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, this volume addresses the question of a specifically Nordic approach to Chinese relations. It explores not only the contributions of the Nordics to China relations, but also adds to the greater study of sub-regional approaches to Chinese diplomacy at a time when Sino-European relations are arguably at their most complex. This book will be of much interest to students and researchers of Chinese politics, Nordic politics, diplomacy and IR in general.
En liten korrigering om "militarisering"
(Available in Norwegian only): Klassekampens reportasje om USA, alliansepolitikk og Øst-Asia på tirsdag var veldig interessant, god og viktig. Det kan imidlertid være på sin plass å moderere utsagnene om Japan, skriver forfatterne i dette leserinnlegget i Klassekampen.
Review: Japan’s Security Renaissance: New policies and politics for the twenty-first century, By Andrew Oros (New York: Columbia University Press...
Xi Jinping’s China – what does the future hold?
China's president has now started his second term at power. What is the future outlook for the country's economy? And how does Japan perceive its neighbour?
Et valg uten alternativer
(Norwegian only): Japans LDP er ikke et spesielt populært parti, så hvorfor fikk de såpass stor valgoppslutning? spør Wrenn Y. Lingren og Petter Lindgren i denne Klassekampen-kronikken.
Breakfast seminar: Japan’s Security and Foreign Policy Challenges on the Korean Peninsula
North Korea’s rapid progress in developing nuclear and missile programs has posed a grave security threat to the international community. Dr. Junya Nishino visits NUPI to discuss this threat from a Japanese point of view.