Asia

The China Policy During Søreide’s Tenure as Foreign Minister (2017–2021): Familiar Tracks and New Conflict Lines

The period with Ine Eriksen Søreide serving as foreign minister (2017–2021) provides an exciting window into the development of Norwegian China-policies. After a six-year freeze in the political relations between Norway and China, Søreide took on the task of normalizing the relationship and navigating it into a time characterized by sharpened conflicts. In this article, we seek answers to two central questions: how did the China-policies evolve during these years, and what explains the turn towards more security- and value-oriented measures in the second half of the period? We combine theories and explanations emphasizing the role of institutional stability, stepwise political change, and structural, international influence.

China’s multilateral stretch: Crafting influence with international organizations

China’s rise as a multilateral power is stirring reactions internationally, with many actors worrying about Chinese influence over specific international organizations (IOs), and its rippling effects on multilateral governance overall. In this brief, we discuss how and why China is working to craft its proactive IO diplomacy, by building position in many established and development oriented IOs, especially, and by initiating new institutions, incorporating to wide range of relations and issues. We show how expanding engagements within the UN and other multilateral arenas demonstrate China’s readiness to both follow, modify, and ignore established rules and norms, while working to ensure that multilateral institutions better reflect Chinese interests and conditions.

A void in Central Asia research: climate change

The environmental burdens of special economic zones on the coastal and marine environment: A remote sensing assessment in Myanmar

ASEAN’s energy transition: how to attract more investment in renewable energy

The energy transition is progressing slowly in the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). To achieve ASEAN’s target of 23% renewables in the primary energy supply by 2025, the region would need to invest USD 27 billion in renewable energy every year. However, the ASEAN countries attracted no more than USD 8 billion annually from 2016 to 2021. Through a comparative review of three key factors for attracting investment—renewable energy legislation, energy governance reform, and general conditions for investors—this study examines why the region’s renewable energy sector has not attracted more capital. The contribution of the article is threefold. First, it develops a new review model for assessing the business climate for renewable energy in any country. Second, it offers an update on the state of renewable energy deployment in the ASEAN countries. Third, taking into account international best practices, it identifies the obstacles and solutions to attracting investment in renewable energy in Southeast Asia. The article finds that carbon lock-in is pervasive, regulatory practices have been copy-pasted from the fossil-fuel sector to the renewables sector, and, except for Malaysia and Vietnam, no ASEAN country has implemented a major pro-renewable energy governance reform. Certain advanced renewable energy measures, such as auctions and feed-in tariffs, have been adopted in some member states, but the institutional capacity to implement them is limited. The share of renewables in the energy governance system needs to be increased.

A nuclear future and the evolution of the military dynamic on the Korean peninsula

North Korea’s nuclear program continues unabated and there is little prospect of a resolution to this seemingly intractable issue. The Kim regime, contrary to international law, is developing and testing a series of new missile and nuclear capabilities including more survivable missiles and tactical nuclear weapons that are increasingly difficult to defend against. At the same time, South Korea is investing in a series of conventional capabilities aimed at deterring and defending a North Korean nuclear attack. Consequently, there is increasing concern in the policy and academic discourse about strategic stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Navigating ASEAN-Myanmar Relations: The Phnom Penh Summit as a Critical Juncture for (Dis)Engagement

This article considers recent internal developments in Myanmar and how they strain external relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It identifies ASEAN’s Phnom Penh Summit as a critical juncture for disengaging the military government, engaging non-political entities and upgrading the 2021 Five-Point Consensus.