Asia Policy Briefs

The EU and Japan are about to adopt two (potentially) ground-breaking agreements: an EU-Japan free trade agreement and the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA). The SPA, policymakers in both Brussels and Tokyo cheer, will be the ‘big bang’ of bilateral relations...

The success of the newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in will depend on whether he can unite a divided society. He also needs the support of the opposition to implement his ambitious reform agenda. In the current issue of the Asia Policy Brief, Hannes B. Mosler,...

Narendra Modi captured India’s imagination by promising rapid economic and social development and won the 2014 elections hands down. His commendable plan to transform India’s welfare system and bring in sustainable development through radical market-driven reforms is,...

Germany enjoys a special relationship with China – for now. The more political and economic competition that takes place between them, the more Germany will have to prepare for conflicts.

Has China’s recent economic slowdown in any way moderated its interest in building economic links with its Asian neighbors or its assertiveness on territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas?

In this issue of the Asia Policy Brief, Jabin T. Jacob, Assistant...

A year ago the Thai military staged a coup against the caretaker government at that time. Since then Thailand’s new constitution – the 20th since 1932 – has been taking shape. In it, the arch-conservative charter drafters stipulate that future elections will be conducted...

The policy brief analyzes the results of Japan’s Lower House elections on December 14, 2014 and examines the state of the country’s reform agenda. It argues that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s strategy to call snap elections and take advantage of an incredibly weak political...

The publication examines the role of Asian middle classes in recent political developments in China, Indonesia, Thailand and India. The authors argue that expectations of a straightforward democratization brought about by the growing middle classes in Asia are misplaced. In...

The publication analyzes the outcome of the presidential election in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, and points out what Jokowi’s victory means for the country’s transition towards democracy. The election could be a wake-up call for the entire region...

The policy brief analyzes the results of the 2014 India general elections and examines the challenges for the new government. It argues that the biggest test before the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to manage the sky-high expectations of those who voted him to power.