CogitAsia

In this episode, we focus on the Indian state of Bihar. Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Modi – a key leader in the BJP – and Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary of Health for Bihar – the state’s head technocrat in the health field – sat down with Richard Rossow, holder of the CSIS Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies, to discuss Bihar’s development progress, future priorities, and opportunities for engagement with the United States to benefit Biharis. Hosted by Liza Keller. Audio...

In this episode, we discuss energy cooperation in the U.S.-India relationship. Achieving two diverging goals for energy engagement in the relationship – deepening and broadening renewables cooperation while India is importing U.S. oil and gas – will likely require a balancing act. Joining the pod from our Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies team to explain the progress in energy cooperation and coming opportunities as well as hurdles are Raymond Vickery and Dr. Kartikeya Singh. Ray...

In this episode, we discuss conflict resolution and development in the northeast Indian state of Nagaland. The long-running insurgency in Nagaland looks to be drawing to a close following conclusion of a framework for a peace agreement in 2015 between the government of India and the Naga rebels, but a final peace deal is still pending. For Nagaland's state government, the challenge for the future is solidifying good governance that will translate to development. Joining the pod to provide...

In this episode, we review the Asia-related sections of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, and explore Congress’s role in framing U.S. policy toward Asia. Returning to the podcast to unpack these topics are Dr. Michael Green, Japan Chair and Senior Vice President for Asia at CSIS, and Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and fellow with Southeast Asia Program at CSIS. Mike and Greg share personal anecdotes about recently deceased Senator...

In this episode, we assess China’s engagement with multilateral institutions and global governance. Joining the show to track China’s transition from institutional outsider to cautious observer to international insider in global governance are Dr. Scott Kennedy, Deputy Director of the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, and Dr. Stewart Patrick, James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance at the Council on Foreign Relations. Scott and Stewart also assess the health of the...

In this episode, we tackle Japan’s relationships with the European Union and Russia in tandem. How will BREXIT affect EU-Japan and Japan-UK relations? What does the new EU-Japan FTA deal mean for the Japanese economy? Will Japan ever regain control of the Northern Territories in the Kuril Islands? Why has Shinzo Abe sought to improve Japan’s relations with Vladimir Putin and Russia? How does Japan’s stance on these issues impact the United States and the international order? CSIS 2018...

In this episode, we discuss the future of defense innovation in the U.S.-Japan alliance with the specter of a rising China on the horizon. CSIS 2018 Strategic Japan Fellow Dr. Satoru Mori, a professor at Hosei University in Japan, joins AEI Research Fellow Dr. Zack Cooper to discuss how the United States and Japan need to invest, innovate, and cooperate to maintain military overmatch against China. They also analyze Tokyo’s own efforts to invest in information technology and cybersecurity...

In this episode, we assess the decline of democratic governance, human rights, and rule of law in several Southeast Asian countries ahead of key elections in 2018 and 2019. CSIS Southeast Asia Program Deputy Director Brian Harding joins the pod to analyze the machinations surrounding elections in Malaysia on May 9 and provide a sitrep on the state of possible elections and space for civil society in Thailand and Cambodia, as well as current trends in Vietnam and the Philippines. Brian also...

In this episode, we provide context for the inter-Korean summit and analyze the prospects of a Trump-Kim summit. CSIS Korea Chair experts Dr. Sue Mi Terry and Lisa Collins join to chart the whirlwind developments on the peninsula since early February, describe the geopolitical dynamics surrounding each summit for North Korea, South Korea, and the United States, and assess the possible outcomes, including whether denuclearization is achievable.Hosted by Elizabeth Keller. Audio edited by Ribka...

In this episode, we analyze the origin and impact of a Sino-American trade war. As the trading relationship between Washington and Beijing spirals into conflict and protectionism, we are joined by two CSIS experts, Matthew Goodman, Simon Chair in Political Economy, and William Reinsch, Scholl Chair in International Business, to discuss what a trade war actually is, the impact of President Trump’s Section 232 tariffs, the types of tools China and the U.S. can use in this fight, and potential...

In this podcast, we talk with Kaiser Kuo, longtime China technology watcher and practitioner, and co-host of the Sinica podcast. In an environment where Xi Jinping is president for life, understanding China’s approach to emerging technology, innovation, and the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship of new media is fundamental for tracking geopolitics in East Asia. As the former director for international communications for Baidu, a Chinese search engine giant, Kaiser is uniquely positioned to...

In this podcast, we take a deep dive into the outcomes of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19Party Congress. Now that the dust has settled following Xi Jinping’s resounding win, we turned to two leading China-watchers to analyze the implications for China’s economic planning, PLA reform, foreign policy, anti-corruption effort, and censorship. Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro, assistant professor of security studies at Georgetown University, and Christopher Johnson, chair of the CSIS Freeman Chair in...

In the 10 years since China’s first successful anti-satellite test, the vulnerability of essential U.S. space systems has been underscored and competition in outer space has resumed. How has the United States responded? What are the implications for strategy and deterrence in this new era? In this podcast, CSIS experts Todd Harrison and Dr. Zack Cooper along with Secure World Foundation’s Dr. Brian Weeden talk about the changes in the space domain since the end of the Cold War and China’s...

In this episode we discuss the complicated political picture in Myanmar for Aung San Suu Kyi after 18 months in office and the humanitarian tragedy in Rakhine state. Former U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell joins to dissect what is happening on the ground following his most recent visit to the country in late August. Hosted by Will Colson. Audio edited by Ribka Gemilangsari. Written and produced by Jeffrey Bean. Review the recommendations of the recent Annan Commission on...

In this episode we discuss altering the U.S. policy approach to the South China Sea. Where does the South China Sea rank in the pecking order of U.S. policy interests? How much risk should America be willing to take over these disputed waters? These are just some of the key questions U.S. policymakers, diplomats, military personnel, and wonks have wrestled with over the last eight years. In this joint CogitAsia-AMTI podcast, you’ll hear from Dr. Ely Ratner, Maurice R. Greenberg senior...

In this episode we discuss maritime coercion in the Asia Pacific. Chinese actions in maritime Asia have led to a great deal of concern and commentary since disputes in the East and South China Seas have come to the forefront in recent years. CSIS’s Asia Program and International Security Program recently published a report that seeks to provide a blueprint for what the United States and its partners can actually do to deter China, Countering Coercion in Maritime Asia: The Theory and Practice...

In this episode we discuss power and conflict in Southeast Asia with Michael Vatikiotis. While inter-state conflict has been minimal in recent years, countries around Southeast Asia face challenges in the form of unresolved insurgencies, simmering ethnic conflicts, and illiberal or ineffective governance. To help us analyze these trends, we are joined by Michael Vatikiotis, Asia Regional Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and a leading authority on governance and conflict...

In this podcast, a joint production of CSIS’s CogitAsia and the China Innovation Policy Series (CIPS), we explore how China’s tech innovation drive fits into the country’s wider economic picture. To gain a sense of whether the Chinese government’s initiatives to develop new technology are succeeding, Scott Kennedy, co-leader of the China Innovation Policy Series project at CSIS, joined China macroeconomist Arthur Kroeber, managing director of Gravekel Dragonomics, an economic research...

In this episode we tackle Japan-South Korea collaboration on security issues. To gain insight on the complicated nature of Japan-South Korea security ties, we sat down with Dr. Junya Nishino, a 2017 CSIS Strategic Japan Fellow. Dr. Nishino discusses the evolution of Japan-ROK security collaboration since the Cold War and the opportunities as well as challenges for future cooperation. You’ll also hear from Lisa Collins, a fellow with the CSIS Korea Chair. Lisa explains the divergences between...

In this episode, we dig into China’s technology innovation efforts and explore how China has become the tech workshop of the world. To give context to China’s efforts to innovate in technology, Dr. Scott Kennedy, director of the CSIS Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy, sat down with China tech sector expert Alberto Moel – a senior research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, a premier investment research firm based in Hong Kong. Scott and Alberto discuss the emergence of...