ISDP Voices

South Korea-Japan diplomatic relations have been worsening throughout the last few years, especially after Seoul decided to walk away from its agreement with Tokyo on the issue of comfort women and South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled against Mitsubishi and Nippon Steel Corporation in 2018. Trapped in the logic of the 1965 bilateral treaty wherein Tokyo […]

On August 2, 2021, the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) as international reserve assets equivalent to US$650 billion to boost global economic liquidity affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new SDR allocation became effective on August 23, 2021. IMF Managing Director Kristalina […]

On November 28, Hondurans will take to the polls in a presidential election that will likely have a major impact on the Central American nation’s foreign policy. Popular opposition candidate Xiomara Castro de Zelaya has publicly pledged to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (RoC), to Mainland China (the PRC). Castro […]

The 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) sixth plenary session held in Beijing from November 8 to 11 is one of the most important events on the CCP´s political agenda. The plenum is held at a special time as 2021 marks the CCP’s centennial and reviewed the nation and the party’s achievements […]

On September 15, US president Biden, Australian Prime Minister Morrison, and British Premier Johnson announced a new trilateral security alliance, known as AUKUS. Even though the official announcement did not make any particular reference to China, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry reacted swiftly by calling AUKUS “extremely irresponsible.” A ministerial spokesperson later doubled down and proclaimed that […]

On October 5th, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) hosted the third annual Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) summit. Officials and industry leaders gathered in Tokyo to discuss how the TCFD guidelines can improve the transparency of climate engagement. Green accounting, a regulatory practice of increasing interest, might provide a shortcut […]

This week marks the 50th anniversary of China and Lebanon establishing diplomatic relations in November 1971. Much has changed since then for both Beijing and Beirut, but the history of the relationship is revealing of some key forces driving both countries’ foreign relations. China is building closer relations with Middle Eastern states, part of a […]

(This is the second blog post in a series of similar posts on gender equality in South Korea – Click here for the first post in the series) Last year, South Korea’s population declined for the first time, with the fertility rate dropping to an all-time low. Although an increase in unemployment and falling incomes […]

(This is the first blog post in a series of similar posts on gender equality in South Korea – Click here for the second post in the series) As the 2022 South Korean presidential election draws nearer, political parties and candidates have begun to proclaim their ambitions. Among them is the newly elected chairman of the main […]

A key element of Deng Xiaoping’s approach to governance was to transform the Chinese communist system into a market-oriented model to achieve economic growth and modernization. Socialism with Chinese characteristics emphasized private sector coexistence with state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, Xi Jinping has taken steps to reverse this trend by introducing regulations such as anti-monopoly restrictions, […]