Rita Durão

Komeito announces split with LDP, clouding Takaichi's bid for PM Komeito’s decision to end the 26-year partnership with the LDP means the ruling party will need to court opposition parties to vote Takaichi in as prime minister.

"Komeito, the Liberal Democratic Party’s long-time junior coalition partner, said Friday it plans to leave the ruling camp, parting ways with the LDP and new President Sanae Takaichi after the LDP failed to accept the party’s proposal on political donations."

Ishiba quits What happens now?

Ishiba, bowing to the inevitable, announced his intention to resign on Sunday afternoon. Where does the LDP go from here?

open.substack.com/pub/observin...

Hundreds Arrested in Immigration Raid at Hyundai Site in Georgia South Korea said it had expressed concerns to the U.S. about the raid and that it was trying to secure the release of its citizens.

"After news of the Georgia arrests, South Korea’s largest newspaper, the right-leaning Chosun Ilbo, ran a story with the headline: “After Investing in ‘Trump MAGA,’ What Came Back Was the Arrest of 300 Koreans.”

www.wsj.com/us-news/u-s-...

What Does China Want? The Authors of a New Paper Challenge the DC Consensus This week on Sinica, I chat with Dave Kang (USC), Zenobia Chan (Georgetown), and Jackie Wong (American University in Sharjah, UAE) about their new paper in International Security titled "What Does Chi...

New podcast from Sinica about "What Does China Want?" -- a great discussion that fleshes out our new paper challenging the DC consensus on a China threat. With @zenobiachan.bsky.social and Jackie Wong. @kaiserkuo.bsky.social Thanks for having us!

www.sinicapodcast.com/p/what-does-...

South Korea grants first NGOs green light to make contact with North Koreans The move undoes a de facto ban on civilian exchanges under Yoon, and is part of a larger approach by the new Lee administration to ease tensions and restore dialogue with North Korea

South Korea grants first NGOs green light to make contact with North Koreans english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...

Trump’s War With Iran Would’ve Happened With North Korea... On the lessons from the 2017 nuclear crisis that the world seems to have memory--holed.

“Everyone has memory-holed the 2017 nuke crisis with North Korea, but Trump would have 100% dragged America into World War III at that time if not for the fact that North Korea already had nukes. Iran does not have nukes, so guess how this is gonna go...” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/trumps-war...

South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung says he’ll bolster US-Japan ties and pursue talks with North South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung says he’ll pursue dialogue with North Korea while bolstering a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan.

BREAKING: South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung gave his inaugural address after taking office Wednesday, saying he’ll pursue dialogue with North Korea while bolstering a trilateral partnership with the United States and Japan.

Despite her new tone, VDL is still afraid to criticise America by name President von der Leyen says the EU's main focus must now be "building an independent Europe" and "casting off our shackles". But she won't name who Europe must become independent from.

This week, 🇪🇺President @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu called for a new "Pax Europaea" in which Europe declares independence.

But her bold words obscure a sad truth: she is following, not leading, in Europe's sovereignty struggle. And she is driven by fear.

My take:

America Might Be A Self-Destructive Project I’ve been reading a book by Immanuel Wallerstein called The Decline of American Power.

“Immanuel Wallerstein bemoans that we are in the early phases of 50 years of tumult and cataclysmic violence. But what emerges on the other side of our disorder is anyone’s guess. It depends on us” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/america-mi...

A sad day for democracy in Portugal and Europe. It feels like only a matter of time before they make a push for power. There’s plenty of blame to go around (media has enabled them from the start), but more importantly, we need to come together to discuss strategies to fight off this global movement.

The Need for Civilizational Allies in Europe Author: Samuel Samson

This should terrify every European who believes in democracy and the rule of law.

The US state department, whose soldiers occupy bases on European soil across the continent, is effectively calling on its "civilisational allies" (the far-right) in Europe to turf out centrist governments.

In 15 minutes, the verdict in Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial will be announced. In the 2017, the judge read the decision for about 20 minutes before delivering the final verdict. Thus, the outcome of Yoon’s impeachment is likely to be revealed between 11:20 and 11:30 a.m. Korea Standard Time.

Ishiba's bad week continues Or, beware a prime minister bearing gifts

With reports that Ishiba distributed some potentially unlawful gifts to junior LDP lawmakers, Ishiba’s week has gone from bad to worse.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...

Asia's Great Power Wars Lessons from Imperial History for Today

Thanks for having me on the podcast -- a great chance to talk about East Asian history, what's universal and inevitable, and what may not be as universal as we think. I hope I was provocative, but not "crazy man" provocative! @jordanschneider.bsky.social

www.chinatalk.media/p/asias-grea...

Van Jackson and Michael Brenes argue that great-power competition with China is misguided and vastly underestimates the costs and risks that geopolitical rivalry poses to economic prosperity, the quality of democracy, and, ultimately, global stability.

Hans Morgenthau Wouldn’t Recognize Elbridge Colby Drop Site News—ran a piece critically profiling Elbridge Colby, a well-known MAGA foreign policy thinker with very hawkish views on China.

“You could say Bridge Colby is an offensive realist...the worldview that says all great-powers only seek security through conquest and power hoarding...But my god, nobody actually thinks offensive realism is a legitimate or valid way of seeing the world.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/hans-morge...

Live! Stephen Wertheim on War and Peace in Europe and Asia Ep. 214 | The Un-Diplomatic Podcast Stephen Wertheim joins as a guest in the Un-Diplomatic Podcast’s special livestream edition. He discusses two of his latest pieces, in the Financial Times and Global Asia magazine respectively. The ch...

A pleasure to join @vanjackson.bsky.social’s Un-Diplomatic Podcast to break down prospects for war and peace in Europe and Asia as Trump returns: www.undiplomaticpodcast.com/episodes/214

It’s time for Europe’s magical thinking on defence to end Europeans need to acknowledge that they can no longer rely on the US security guarantee

In @financialtimes.com, I argue that the United States has not underwritten European security — not really — for decades now. No matter what happens next, European defense depends on Europeans themselves.

Read paywall free: on.ft.com/4iSWlkf

Wild times in South Korea as it impeaches acting President Han Duck-Soo. Just when we thought we’d had enough historic events this year - Korea keeps it going. Next in line is the finance minister. Let’s see if he’ll be willing to appoint the constitutional court justices.

With Colby heading back to the Pentagon, here's what I wrote on his "Japan should spend 3% of its GDP on defense" idea.

👇🏻

Important development for 🇰🇷🇰🇵 watchers:

Colby argues US should shift focus from NK to China.

So, he urges South Korea to take more responsibility for its defense, even exploring nuclear options.

And he views DPRK denuclearization as unlikely, prefers arms control to denuke.

Changing identity to remain oneself: ontological security and the Swedish decision on joining NATO - Journal of International Relations and Development Why, despite its longstanding identity as a non-aligned country, did Sweden apply for NATO membership in May 2022? Did this decision not fundamentally challenge Swedish ontological security? Conversel...

Why did Sweden join NATO? This new article in JIRD argues that non-alignment clashed with deeper identity constructs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Finland's NATO bid. Joining NATO helped resolve the clash, thus restoring ontological security for many Swedes. tinyurl.com/yjnxdj3x

EU leaders avoid direct accusation over Chinese role in Russia’s war in Ukraine A draft statement suggests leaders from the bloc’s 27 members will not accuse Beijing of crossing a major red line.

New: European Union leaders will avoid directly calling out China over Russia’s war in Ukraine at a major summit this week, according to a draft statement

www.scmp.com/news/china/d...

It’s a wrap for the KOREA-EU-NATO NextGen Program 2024! Huge thanks to all the experts from around the EU, US, and Korea for sharing their knowledge on the Korean Peninsula and East Asian security. Also grateful for the opportunity to present my own work and receive important feedback.

A Practical Vision for South Korea Seoul can lead in Asia and spur growth at home.

From 2022, but this @foreignaffairs.com contribution by Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is worth re-reading.

(Yoon impeachment) N. Korea reports S. Korea's Yoon impeachment 2 days after parliamentary vote | Yonhap News Agency By Lee Minji SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media on Monday reporte...

N. Korea reports S. Korea's Yoon impeachment 2 days after parliamentary vote en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN2024...

Fukuoka High Court rules ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional It is the third such high court ruling so far in Japan after the Sapporo High Court in March and the Tokyo High Court in October.

[THREAD]

"The Fukuoka High Court ruled on Friday that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, as it violates people’s right to pursue happiness—stronger phrasing than in its lower court ruling, marking a further victory for supporters of LGBTQ+ rights."

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/12...

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s fall was as fast as his ascent Yoon, a political novice, was impeached barely halfway through his five-year term. That makes him the shortest-serving president in South Korea’s democratic history.

South Korea is no stranger to disgraced presidents. Nonetheless, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s downfall is unique even by South Korean standards.

Gift link to our political analysis of how Yoon became the nation's third president to go through impeachment proceedings:

wapo.st/4gEim4x

'탄핵심판' 심리 앞둔 헌재…내일 尹에 "답변서 제출" 요청 | 연합뉴스 (서울=연합뉴스) 이도흔 기자 = 헌법재판소가 윤석열 대통령에 대한 본격적인 탄핵심판 심리를 앞두고 신속한 재판을 위해 관련 절차를 진행하고 있...

1/ South Korea's Constitutional Court to hold its first meeting tomorrow at 10am to begin deliberations on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, following his failed martial law declaration and subsequent parliament vote yesterday to impeach him. www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR2024...