Views from Down Underer

Ep. 86: China-Japan spat, NZ MPs sent warning letter by PRC envoy, MAGA's MTG resigning from US Congress

Tensions brewing between China and Japan due to PRC's response to Japanese PM's comments about 'survival-threatening situation' pertaining to conflict in the Taiwan Strait.  What's happening here? Over-reaction? Playing to domestic constituencies? Nationalism at play? Chinese envoy to NZ wrote a warning letter to NZ MPs that attended Taiwan's national day reception in Wellington.  Wolf-warrior at play again? Principal-agent issues?  Misunderstanding of how Westminster system works?  Fallout of the US government shutdown and Epstein files is the resignation announcement of big MAGA supporter Marjorie Taylor-Greene.

Ep. 85: Learning a foreign language: opening minds, appreciating cultures, building self-confidence, creating opportunities

We share our experience of learning foreign languages and the importance of learning a different language.  One of our students currently studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan shares her experience learning the language and living in Taipei.  

Ep. 84: ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur and APEC meeting in Seoul

ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur saw the formal admission of Timor Leste as the newest ASEAN member, the transfer of chair-ship to the Philippines and US President Trump attended the summit.  Seoul hosted the APEC meeting but the Trump-XI meeting stole the show as the leaders of the two largest economies met face to face.

Ep. 83: Trading democracy off for desirable outcomes?

We discuss a forthcoming research article to be published at the Comparative Political Studies by Jonathan Chu and colleagues on whether people are willing to trade-off democracy for desirable outcomes.  The paper using experiments show that while free and fair elections are a desired, people in the six countries they studied (including US, Japan, Italy) are willing to trade it off to avoid living in dangerous societies.
Readings: Jonathan A. Chu, Scott Williamson, Eddy S.F. Yeung (forthcoming). "Are People Willing to to Trade Away Democracy for Desirable Outcomes? Experimental Evidence from Six Countries." Comparative Political Studies

Ep 82: Australia-PNG security pact and Australia-Vanuatu security and development pact

Recent news about Australia's pacts with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu has highlighted the important of geopolitical competition in the South Pacific.  However, despite the announcement of these pacts, they were not officially signed in time from the Pacific Island Forum.  What are these pacts? Are there outstanding issues that preventing the pacts from being signed?  We are joined by Henrietta McNeill-Stowers, Michael Kabuni, and Anna Naupa of the Australian National University to discuss these news.

Ep.81: Russian drones over Poland, Hyundai plant raided by immigration agents

Poland invoked NATO article 4 due to Russian drones violating Polish airspace.  Immigration agents in the US raided a South Korean EV plant in the state of Georgia and deported over 300 South Korean workers.  

Ep. 80: Impressions from the conference we hosted, US rebranding Pentagon to Department of War

We hosted a conference on "Asia-Pacific states: navigating and managing global disorder" a week ago.  We share insights we learned from the conference.  US Trump administration is planning to rebrand Pentagon to Department of War.  The cost of this renaming alone can be in billions of dollars.  

Ep. 79: Putin-Trump Alaska summit and Chinese ship collision in the South China Sea

What happened or not in the Alaska summit between Trump and Putin?  Two Chinese ships collided while doing a pincer move chasing a Philippine coast guard vessel.  Will there be escalation in the future?

Ep 78: Geoeconomics and USTR Greer's New York Times guest essay

We discuss a paper on the political economy of geoeconomic power and discuss what theory means when applied to real world empirics.  In an New York Times guest essay authored by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer titled "Why We Remade the Global Order," Greer argues that the agreement between the EU and the US made at Turnberry resort is a new world order much like Bretton Woods set the postwar world order.  Is the comparison valid?  We discuss the essay and assess its claims.

Ep. 77: Thailand-Cambodia border skirmishes, Japan's LDP loses upper house majority, Taiwan's recall election

The Thai-Cambodia border skirmish has now escalated with both sides firing artillery across their borders.  Why the escalation now?  Japan's LDP loses its upper house majority and what does it mean for PM Ishiba's tenure as LDP party leader.  Taiwan has a recall election in a bid to unseat KMT legislators and allow the DPP to regain legislative majority that the ruling party lost in the January 2024 general election.  So what is the result and what are the implications of this recall election on party politics in Taiwan?