Has China’s Economic Development Led to the Democratization of China?

By |2023-01-06T14:27:10-10:00January 6th, 2023|Categories: Faculty Articles, news, Cho|Tags: , , |

Dr.Sungmin Cho has published a new article titled “Does China’s Case Falsify Modernization Theory? Interim Assessment,” in the Journal of Contemporary China. Using the political science theory of modernization, Dr. Cho revisits the question of whether China's economic development has brought democratic changes in China or not. While the modernization theory suggests that economic development should lead to democratization, many analysts have claimed that China has not made democratic progress at all, despite its economic growth. By comparing these two competing perspectives and examining the evidence behind each assessment, Dr.Cho argues that there has been a certain degree of democratic [...]

Vietnam’s Approach to China: Bamboo Diplomacy with Neo-tributary Characteristics

By |2022-12-07T10:10:39-10:00December 3rd, 2022|Categories: news, Cho|Tags: , , |

This article discusses China’s efforts in strengthening China-Vietnam relations and Vietnam’s use of bamboo diplomacy to keep China at arm’s length without coming across as an adversary. According to Vuving, Vietnam’s Communist Party chief, Nguyen Phu Trong, used bamboo as a metaphor to advocate for a foreign policy “that combines flexibility in tactics and firmness in principles, thus resulting in resilience.”

How South Korea Can Contribute to the Defense of Taiwan

By |2022-10-24T15:22:36-10:00October 24th, 2022|Categories: news, Cho|Tags: , , , |

Dr. Sungmin Cho has a new co-authored paper titled “How South Korea can contribute to the defense of Taiwan” published in the Washington Quarterly. According to Cho, “It remains unclear what South Korea can and should do in a Taiwan contingency. US-China competition is currently fiercest over this issue—it is the most likely potential cause of a great-power war between the two sides. Preventing this outcome through enhanced deterrence depends on the policies of US allies like South Korea. What can South Korea do to support US-led efforts, and what are the major hurdles in attaining deeper bilateral cooperation on [...]

Dr. Sungmin Cho Presents at the 22nd Asian Leadership Conference in Seoul

By |2022-07-21T08:25:55-10:00July 20th, 2022|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, news, Cho|Tags: , |

On July 14, DKI APCSS professor Dr. Sungmin Cho joined a panel of experts to discuss North Korea’s most recent nuclear tests and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war.  In his remarks Dr. Cho presented his analyses on (1) the Chinese view of North Korea’s military provocations in 2022, (2) the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the Korean Peninsula, and (3) the possibility of North Korea’s 7th nuclear test. The session included panelists Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Vice President for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Mr. Ankit Panda, Senior Fellow of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Markus Garlauskas, nonresident [...]

Chinese Democracy: Some Guns and Some Roses?

By |2022-05-23T11:17:44-10:00May 23rd, 2022|Categories: College, news, Cho, Media, featured|Tags: , , , |

DKI APCSS professor Dr. Sungmin Cho recently appeared on the “All Things Policy” podcast hosted by the Takshashila Institution in India. The title of this episode is Chinese Democracy: Some Guns and Some Roses?  According to the podcast summary: “China has tried to define and project itself as a democracy as opposed to the general conception of China as an authoritarian political system. These attempts seem to be not just to highlight China's democratic system, but also to highlight how different it is from the western conception of democracy. In this episode, Megha Pardhi talks to Dr. Sungmin Cho about [...]

DKI APCSS Professor Sungmin Cho Featured on the Nordic Asia Podcast

By |2022-05-03T16:28:29-10:00April 5th, 2022|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, news, Cho, Media, featured|Tags: , , , |

On March 27, the Nordic Asia Podcast featured DKI APCSS professor Dr. Sungmin Cho who spoke on the multi-faceted security dilemmas that beset the Korean Peninsula. In the thirty-minute interview, Dr. Cho forecasted future changes for South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s foreign policy. According to Dr. Cho, while the previous administration utilized a policy of strategic ambiguity, the incoming administration will move forward with strategic clarity. As expected, the new administration will emphasize the U.S.-South Korean Alliance. In regards to its relationship with China, the administration will seek to maintain a positive commercial relationship while avoiding retaliations related to security [...]

The U.S.-China Power Transition: An assessment of China’s internal view

By |2022-03-28T09:38:52-10:00March 28th, 2022|Categories: College, Faculty Articles, news, Cho|Tags: , , , |

Dr.Sungmin Cho has a new paper titled “The U.S.-China Power Transition: An assessment of China’s internal view” published in the Melbourne Asia Review. According to Cho, “It is vital to understand how Chinese policymakers and analysts view the regional order, whether one agrees with them or not. How do they assess China’s national power and its future trajectory in comparison with the United States? How do the Chinese foreign policy elites view the changing trend of regional order, and why do they see it that way? This article aims to explain China’s internal view of the regional order in the [...]

North Korea Is Becoming an Asset for China 

By |2022-02-15T08:12:41-10:00February 15th, 2022|Categories: Faculty Articles, External Publications, news, Cho|Tags: , , , , |

“North Korea Is Becoming an Asset for China” is a new article by Dr. Sungmin Cho for Foreign Affairs magazine. Co-authored with Oriana Skylar Mastro, the article discusses the latest round of missile testing by North Korea and its potential impact on US alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea. According to the authors, "North Korea's missile tests are occurring at a time of stark, rising competition between the United States and the Pacific’s other great power: China... Pyongyang’s weapons program was long seen as a liability for Beijing, given the erratic and unpredictable behavior of North Korea’s leaders. [...]

South Korea’s Taiwan Conundrum

By |2022-01-05T13:14:50-10:00January 6th, 2022|Categories: Faculty Articles, External Publications, news, Cho|Tags: , |

“South Korea’s Taiwan Conundrum” is Dr. Sungmin Cho’s latest commentary for War on the Rocks. What would South Korea do if China attacked Taiwan?  According to Cho, “many people in Washington, Taipei, and Tokyo are wondering. South Korea’s position remains much more ambivalent than Japan’s. Seoul is understandably more worried about the possibility of retaliation from China, akin to Beijing’s fury over the basing of a U.S. defensive missile system in South Korea several years ago. Seoul also has a unique concern that Beijing would turn even more non-cooperative in the future process of Korean unification, if it ever occurs, as a result [...]

China and North Korea: A New Peak of Comradeship

By |2022-01-05T13:03:10-10:00January 5th, 2022|Categories: Faculty Articles, External Publications, news, Cho|Tags: , |

"China and North Korea: A New Peak of Comradeship" is Dr. Sungmin Cho’s latest commentary made at the invitation of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. In July 2021, commemorating the 60th anniversary of mutual defense treaty, Chinese President Xi Jinping said bilateral relations between China and North Korea should “unceasingly rise to new levels” in the world “undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.” How can one explain, in Xi Jinping’s own words, China’s “unswerving support” of North Korea in 2021? What events are likely to impact China-North Korea relations in 2022? Dr.Cho offers his answers to these [...]

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