Competing Regional Visions around the CaspianKazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan: East-West ConnectivityFor much of the post-Soviet period, an implicit assumption existed...
Read MoreEast Asian Affairs
The East Asian Affairs program analyzes political, strategic, and economic developments in East Asia, with particular attention to regional security, great power relations, and institutional cooperation. Key areas of focus include inter-Korean relations, China’s regional role, Japan’s security posture, and broader regional stability.
SIGA’s research seeks to provide nuanced perspectives on East Asia’s evolving regional order and its global implications.
The Middle Corridor’s Decisive Decade and Azerbaijan’s
Over the past decade, Azerbaijan has turned its geography into a serious strategic asset. Sitting at the crossroads of Asia,...
Read More
Pragmatism over Pivot: How South Korea’s New
The political crisis of December 2024 and the subsequent inauguration of President Lee Jae-myung in June 2025 constitute an inflection...
Read More
Beyond Access and Security: Policy Acceptability in
Korea’s Arctic engagement has become increasingly visible in recent years. The passage of the Special Act on the Promotion of...
Read More
South Korea and Arctic Shipping Routes: Energy
Introduction The rapid melting of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change is creating new possibilities for maritime transportation across...
Read More
Bamboo Diplomacy, Amplified: Tô Lâm’s Middle-Power Signal
The opening session of the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 29, 2026, captured the central tension in Vietnam’s diplomacy. Tô Lâm,...
Read More
Between Staying and Leaving: The Unfinished Journey
Beyond Recruitment: Korea’s Ambition to Attract and Retain Global TalentOver the past two decades, Korea has undergone a quiet but...
Read More
Institutionalized Interdependence and Korea–Mongolia Cooperation in a
Geopolitical Transformation and the Emergence of Korea–Mongolia Strategic ConvergenceThe contemporary international order is increasingly characterized by intensified geopolitical competition, deepening...
Read More
International Law as Strategic Infrastructure: Korea and
Middle Power Constraints and Korea’s Strategic Turn to South AsiaThe contemporary international order is increasingly shaped by intensifying geopolitical competition,...
Read More
The Evolution of Azerbaijan–South Korea Energy Partnership
IntroductionAs global energy systems undergo rapid transformation driven by decarbonization pressures, technological innovation, and shifting geopolitical alignments, energy-producing states are...
Read More
The Upcoming 11th Korea–EU Summit: Strategic Significance
The Strategic Significance of the Korea–EU SummitThe reality that yesterday’s allies are turning into today’s adversarial partners is emerging due...
Read More
From Exports to Allied Industrial Capacity: The
Introduction: Beyond the Arms Export StoryKorea’s defense industry has spent the past three years moving from being a notable arms...
Read More
Constructive U.S.–China Engagement with North Korea as
Beyond the Denuclearization–Engagement BinarySouth Korea’s diplomacy toward North Korea has long been trapped between two familiar but insufficient choices. One...
Read More
Rethinking Social Security Cooperation in Italy–South Korea
IntroductionBilateral social security agreements are essential in today’s globalized world to guarantee expatriates’ welfare, facilitate international labor mobility, and promote...
Read More
Can Middle Powers survive the U.S.-China Crossfire?
The Myth of the Multipolar Buffer in a Bipolar RealityFor a diverse, geographically dispersed array of middle powers spanning from...
Read More
Beyond the Factory Model: Korea, Vietnam, and
President Lee Jae-myung’s April 2026 state visit to Vietnam was framed by a rare symmetry of diplomatic timing. General Secretary...
Read More
Japan’s China Policy Shift Under the Takaichi
The release of Japan’s 2026 Diplomatic Bluebook and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s subsequent declaration on constitutional revision represent more than...
Read More
Deepening the Korea–Bulgaria Strategic Value Alliance amid
IntroductionAs Korea and Bulgaria mark the 36th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026, their bilateral ties are entering a new...
Read More
Digital Regulation Between Allies: South Korea– EU
Introduction: The Geopolitics of Digital RegulationThe politics of digital regulation has become one of the clearest examples of how economics,...
Read More
President Trump’s Squid Game: The Korean Nuclear
IntroductionThe Korean nuclear debate has been among the hidden political taboos in the Korean political agenda and inter-Korean relations for...
Read More
Beyond Deadlock: Environmental Cooperation as a Pragmatic
Cooperation in an Age of TensionThe Korean Peninsula today is defined by a paradox. Political and military tensions remain deeply...
Read More
Reimagining European Studies in Korea: Lessons from
The Evolution of European Studies in Korea: From Regional Studies to Multidisciplinary Expansion European Studies in Korea has undergone a...
Read More
Recalibrating Strategy: The Rise of Korea’s Global
Korea’s Expanding Global Profile: Economic, Military, and Technological Dimensions In the context of rapidly shifting global dynamics, Korea has emerged...
Read More
Imperial Expansion and the Formation of Treaty-Based
From the fifteenth century onward, European maritime expansion fundamentally transformed Southeast Asia into a crucial node of global trade linking...
Read More
South Korea’s Harder Line on Israel Amid
A new diplomatic tension has emerged between South Korea and Israel in recent days. It began after President Lee Jae-myung...
Read More
Legal Approaches to Multiculturalism in Korea: Domestic
The Characteristic Points of the Multiculturalism in Korea Korean society is currently undergoing a transition toward multiculturalism, despite its long-standing...
Read More
The Evolution of International Legal Relations between
Expanding Legal Relations in a Changing International Order Over the past several decades, the relationship between the Republic of Korea...
Read More
Shifting Global Security and the Strategic Imperatives
The global security order in 2026 looks nothing like it did even two years ago. When the U.S. and Israel...
Read More
New Korea-India Relations: Strategic Investment as Absolute
The future of South Korea–India relations will depend less on diplomatic rhetoric than on the political economy of investment. For...
Read More
North Korea’s Nuclear Issue and the Lee
South Korea has a new president openly willing to talk to North Korea. The United States has a president who...
Read More
South Korea–Italy Relations in a New Era:
While the eyes of the world are on turmoil in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, and on Russia’s...
Read More
The Laws for Content Promotion by the
The Rise of Cultural Content as StrategyThe global cultural content industry has undergone a profound transformation over the past few...
Read More
The United States tells China to kick
The United States is seeking to diversify its supply chain for critical minerals and reduce its dependence on China by...
Read More
Pragmatism without Illusions: South Korea’s North Korea
Introduction: Managing Risk in an Unstable Environment The contemporary international environment is characterized by the simultaneous coexistence of strategic calculation...
Read More
NATO–IP4 Cooperation and European Dynamics: Korea’s Emerging
Introduction: A Shifting Security Landscape Since 2022, the international security environment has undergone a structural transformation. The war in Ukraine...
Read More
South Korea Establishes a Transformative Urban Strategy
Introduction: From Contractor to Architect Central Asia’s contemporary geopolitical architecture is evolving beyond its historical characterization as merely an arena...
Read More
Kaesong: The Experiment That Did Not Fail
Introduction: From Contractor to Architect When the Kaesong Industrial Complex was shut down in February 2016, it was widely described...
Read More