A Guide to Understanding the History of the ‘Comfort Women’ Issue

A Guide to Understanding the History of the ‘Comfort Women’ Issue

Friday, September 16, 2022

By: Alexis Dudden

Even before assuming office in May 2022, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made clear his desire for smoother formal relations between Seoul and Tokyo. Locked in a number of interwoven and protracted disputes, South Korea and Japan have been at a diplomatic standstill since well before COVID-19 restrictions shut down everything. Recent peacebuilding efforts are encouraging, with Japan and the United States publicly welcoming South Korea’s overtures as pivotal to plans for regional alignment in the face of North Korea’s provocations and China’s aggressive behavior.

Type: Analysis

Peace ProcessesReconciliation

Bangsamoro Peace and the U.S.-Philippines Alliance

Bangsamoro Peace and the U.S.-Philippines Alliance

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

By: Brian Harding;  Haroro J. Ingram

The election in May of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the 17th president of the Philippines presents an opportunity to reset U.S.-Philippines relations after six rocky years while President Rodrigo Duterte held the office. After Marcos’s sweeping election victory, President Biden called to congratulate him and then dispatched a series of U.S. officials to Manila, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Any concerns that the Marcos family’s corruption and lingering legal issues in the United States would hold up relations have been pushed aside due to the enormous interests the United States has in a functioning U.S.-Philippines alliance.

Type: Analysis

Global PolicyPeace Processes

Philippines’ Bangsamoro Peace Process Normalization Track Hits Some Bumps

Philippines’ Bangsamoro Peace Process Normalization Track Hits Some Bumps

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

By: Jamal Ali

The normalization track of the Bangsamoro peace process involves the decommissioning of 40,000 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants and their firearms, as well as their transformation to civilian and productive members of society through the provision of socioeconomic development programs and other peace dividends, extending to their families and communities.

Type: Analysis

Peace Processes

Why Was a Negotiated Peace Always Out of Reach in Afghanistan?

Why Was a Negotiated Peace Always Out of Reach in Afghanistan?

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

By: Steve Brooking

August 30, 2022, marks the one-year anniversary of the last US troops leaving Afghanistan. During America’s 20-year military intervention, there were several opportunities to negotiate peace among the Taliban, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the United States—but these opportunities were missed, went unrecognized, or were deliberately spurned by one or more of the parties. In this important history, Steve Brooking, the first British official sent into Afghanistan after 9/11, examines why the three parties were unable or unwilling to reach a negotiated settlement.

Type: Peaceworks

Peace Processes

Resolution of Korean Forced Labor Claims Must Put Victims at the Center

Resolution of Korean Forced Labor Claims Must Put Victims at the Center

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

By: Nathan Park

In 1965, Japan and South Korea signed numerous treaties and agreements to normalize relations, including the Treaty on Basic Relations reestablishing diplomatic relations and a Claims Agreement settling property claims among the two countries and their nationals. These agreements have failed to resolve bilateral tensions stemming from the claims of Koreans who were subjected to forced labor by Imperial Japan during World War II. Some parties have called for a legal resolution based on the arbitration clause in the Claims Agreement. However, major issues would arise if the two countries pursued arbitration.

Type: Analysis

Peace ProcessesReconciliation

Different Wartime Memories Keep Japan and South Korea Apart

Different Wartime Memories Keep Japan and South Korea Apart

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

By: Daniel Sneider

The current state of relations between South Korea and Japan is, in the judgment of many observers, the worst since normalization in 1965. Despite decades of interaction, cooperation and even integration, relations between South Korea and Japan seem to have reverted to a dysfunctional status in which even the most basic forms of diplomatic intercourse present a challenge.

Type: Analysis

Peace ProcessesReconciliation

Acknowledging U.S. Missteps Can Ease Japan-South Korea Relations

Acknowledging U.S. Missteps Can Ease Japan-South Korea Relations

Monday, August 22, 2022

By: Syrus Jin

History sits at the heart of the frigid relationship between South Korea and Japan. Not just the history of Japanese imperialism, but also the history of U.S. strategic interests since 1945. U.S. decision-making stemming from such interests — at first framed within the context of fighting the Cold War and now defined by U.S. competition with China — has oftentimes exacerbated long-term South Korea-Japan relations in its pursuit of expedient solutions and limited the opportunities and avenues for reconciliation.

Type: Analysis

Peace ProcessesReconciliation

How Religious Actors Can Help Address the Western Hemisphere’s Biggest Challenges

How Religious Actors Can Help Address the Western Hemisphere’s Biggest Challenges

Thursday, August 18, 2022

By: Andrés Martínez;  Melissa Nozell

On the sidelines of this year’s Summit of the Americas, the Interreligious Forum of the Americas brought together over 100 religious actors, faith-based organizations and governments to discuss how strategic engagement with religious and interreligious actors can help address the hemisphere’s most pertinent issues.

Type: Analysis

Peace ProcessesReligion

The Next Five Years Are Crucial for Bougainville’s Independence Bid

The Next Five Years Are Crucial for Bougainville’s Independence Bid

Friday, August 12, 2022

By: Brian Harding;  Camilla Pohle

Now that Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has been reelected, the stage is set for him to settle what he has called the biggest issue facing the country — the future political status of Bougainville, an autonomous region seeking independence by 2027. Papua New Guinea is unlikely to let it secede, but Bougainville is unlikely to settle for anything less than full independence, and positive relations between the two governments will be of paramount importance in the coming years. Meanwhile, intensifying U.S.-China competition in the South Pacific creates wider implications for Bougainville’s potential independence.

Type: Analysis

Global PolicyPeace Processes