Could Climate Change Compel North Korea to Cooperate?

Could Climate Change Compel North Korea to Cooperate?

Thursday, September 22, 2022

By: Frank Aum;  Lucy Stevenson-Yang

Like much of the rest of the world, North Korea is experiencing more frequent and more intense climate-related disasters. In the last few years, it has seen its longest drought and longest rain season in over a century. In 2021, the country’s reclusive dictator, Kim Jong Un, called for immediate steps to mitigate the dramatic impacts of climate change, which compound other challenges facing the country, like food insecurity. While North Korea is not exactly known for its efforts to cooperate with the international community, the severe threats posed by climate change could lead to broader engagement that serves Pyongyang’s interests, as well as the interests of the United States, South Korea and China, who all want peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Type: Analysis

Environment

China’s Engagement in Latin America: Views from the Region

China’s Engagement in Latin America: Views from the Region

Monday, August 8, 2022

By: Lucy Stevenson-Yang;  Henry Tugendhat

China’s economic and political engagement in Latin America grew significantly in the first part of the 21st century. And yet, Latin American reporting on China has not grown apace. Too few Latin American journalists cover Chinese activities in the region and even fewer foreign correspondents from Latin America report on developments in China. This knowledge gap means journalists struggle to provide proper context for major trade and investment deals and are unprepared to investigate when scandals erupt. Latin American media outlets often lack the capacity or resources to cover foreign affairs in general, much less the geo-political repercussions of China-Latin American relations.

Type: Analysis

EconomicsGlobal Policy

China Is Not Russia. Taiwan Is Not Ukraine.

China Is Not Russia. Taiwan Is Not Ukraine.

Friday, March 4, 2022

By: Andrew Scobell, Ph.D.;  Lucy Stevenson-Yang

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the most consequential military conflict Europe has witnessed since the Second World War — has riveted the attention of the world. Observers have grappled with the meaning of the act of aggression and scrambled to ponder the wider implications of the war. Almost inevitably people look to draw analogies—both historical and contemporary ones. 

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & PreventionGlobal Policy

China’s Influence on Conflict Dynamics in South Asia

China’s Influence on Conflict Dynamics in South Asia

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

By: USIP China-South Asia Senior Study Group

China has embarked on a grand journey west. Officials in Beijing are driven by aspirations of leadership across their home continent of Asia, feelings of being hemmed in on their eastern flank by U.S. alliances, and their perception that opportunities await across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean. Along the way, their first stop is South Asia, which this report defines as comprising eight countries—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—along with the Indian Ocean (particularly the eastern portions but with implications for its entirety). China’s ties to the region are...

Type: Report

Conflict Analysis & Prevention