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.
The Abe Legacy
With the terrible assassination of former Prime minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, an important, but not always uncontroversial, political era in Japan is over. As the longest serving Prime minster, he leaves an important legacy in Japanese politics, but also in relation to the role he wanted Japan to play on the global scene. Based on the 99th Stockholm Seminar on Japan, two invited experts, Dr. Wrenn Yennie Lindgren and Dr. Richard Nakamura, share their views on the international political, as well as economic implications of the passing of Abe in this policy brief.
The China-Europe Freight Train and the War in Ukraine:Triumph and Tribulations in Transcontinental Shipping
In this policy brief, Professor Xiangming Chen analyzes the China-Europe Freight Train (CEFT), the flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, and evaluates its extensiveness, efficiency and adaptability based on recent geopolitical developments, in particular the War in Ukraine.
Katharina Glaab
Glaab was a visiting research fellow at NUPI in the Research Group on Russia, Asia and International Trade.
Technological Determinism and Challenges to Deterrence in Southern Asia
Southern Asian strategic stability is fragile with multiple challenges affecting crisis stability, deterrence stability, and arms race stability. With rapid scientific developments, technological advancements are translating into new advanced military capabilities at a much faster rate. As countries move to achieve technological superiority, they are exploring ways to exploit “gray zones” or areas where their adversaries’ deterrence is the most vulnerable across various domains. Cross-domain coercion adds to the fragility of deterrence. In this environment, India and Pakistan must initiate a bilateral dialogue to discuss South Asian strategic stability with a focus on minimizing the drivers of instability and strengthening mutual deterrence. A joint publication by APLN and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).
The Economics of Strategic Stability in US-China relations
The economic aspects of strategic stability tend to come second place in the study of US-China relations. For good reason, scholars have focussed on the military aspects of strategic stability, including the role of emerging technology and cyber capabilities, in this most important geopolitical relationship. Yet, considering the ongoing War on Ukraine, as well as tensions over Taiwan, it is worthwhile considering the effect coercive economic tools such as tariffs, sanctions and embargoes, can have on wider strategic stability.