Deterrence in East Asia

With research areas focusing in international relations and theories of conflict processes, Dr. Kyungkook Kang, assistant professor, recently published a co-authored article with Dr. Jacek Kugler of Claremont Graduate University. This article appears in International Area Studies Review titled “Assessment of deterrence and missile defense in East Asia: A power transition perspective.” This article is a theoretical extension of the invited presentation at the 2015 Workshop Program of Power Transition Theory and the Rise of China at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Oslo, Norway.

The authors explore the stability of deterrence in East Asia and the effects of missile defense on regional security. Dr. Kang particularly evaluates the policy implications derived from the power transition perspective. Over the short term, Dr. Kang  anticipates the stability of deterrence in East Asia will be increased by the deployment of ballistic missile defenses that creates a power dominance of satisfied challengers against potential regional challengers. The research within this article was supported by PRIO and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).