Stanford University

Society

FSI researchers work to understand continuity and change in societies as they confront their problems and opportunities. This includes the implications of migration and human trafficking. What happens to a society when young girls exit the sex trade? How do groups moving between locations impact societies, economies, self-identity and citizenship? What are the ethnic challenges faced by an increasingly diverse European Union? From a policy perspective, scholars also work to investigate the consequences of security-related measures for society and its values.

The Europe Center reflects much of FSI’s agenda of investigating societies, serving as a forum for experts to research the cultures, religions and people of Europe. The Center sponsors several seminars and lectures, as well as visiting scholars.

Societal research also addresses issues of demography and aging, such as the social and economic challenges of providing health care for an aging population. How do older adults make decisions, and what societal tools need to be in place to ensure the resulting decisions are well-informed? FSI regularly brings in international scholars to look at these issues. They discuss how adults care for their older parents in rural China as well as the economic aspects of aging populations in China and India.

Engaging China: Fifty Years of Sino-American Relations

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Co-sponsored by the Stanford Center at Peking University.

In honor of its release, contributors Mary Bullock, Thomas Fingar, and David M. Lampton will join editor Anne Thurston for a panel discussion of their volume Engaging China: Fifty Years of Sino-American Relations (Columbia University Press, 2021).

Recent years have seen the U.S.-China relationship rapidly deteriorate. Engaging China brings together leading China specialists—ranging from academics to NGO leaders to former government officials—to analyze the past, present, and future of U.S.-China relations. Bullock, Fingar, Lampton, and Thurston will reflect upon the complex and multifaceted nature of American engagement with China since the waning days of Mao’s rule. What initially motivated U.S.’ rapprochement with China? Until recent years, what logic and processes have underpinned the U.S. foreign policy posture towards China? What were the gains and the missteps made during five decades of America’s engagement policy toward China? What is the significance of our rapidly deteriorating bilateral relations today? Speakers will tackle these questions and more at this critical time when tensions between the U.S. and China continue to intensify.

For more information about Engaging China or to purchase a copy, please click here.


Portrait of Mary Bullock
Mary Bullock, president emerita of Agnes Scott College, is an educator and scholar of U.S. – China relations. She served as the founding executive vice-chancellor of Duke Kunshan University from 2012-2015. Previous positions include distinguished visiting professor at Emory University, director of the Asia Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center, and director of the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People’s Republic of China. She is vice-chair of the Asia Foundation, a trustee of the Henry Luce Foundation, and a member of the Schwarzman Academic Advisory Committee and the Council on Foreign Relations. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Chinese history from Stanford University. Her most recent publications include The Oil Prince’s Legacy: Rockefeller Philanthropy in China (2011) and, as co-editor, Medical Transitions in Twentieth Century China (2014).
 

Portrait of Tom Fingar
Thomas Fingar is a Shorenstein APARC Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He was the inaugural Oksenberg-Rohlen Distinguished Fellow from 2010 through 2015 and the Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford in 2009. From 2005 through 2008, he served as the first deputy director of national intelligence for analysis and, concurrently, as chairman of the National Intelligence Council. Fingar served previously as assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (2000-01 and 2004-05), principal deputy assistant secretary (2001-03), deputy assistant secretary for analysis (1994-2000), director of the Office of Analysis for East Asia and the Pacific (1989-94), and chief of the China Division (1986-89). Between 1975 and 1986 he held a number of positions at Stanford University, including senior research associate in the Center for International Security and Arms Control.

Fingar's most recent books are The New Great Game: China and South and Central Asia in the Era of Reform, editor (Stanford, 2016), Uneasy Partnerships: China and Japan, the Koreas, and Russia in the Era of Reform (Stanford, 2017), and Fateful Decisions: Choices that will Shape China’s Future, co-edited with Jean Oi (Stanford, 2020).
 

Portrait of David M. Lampton
David M. Lampton is Senior Fellow at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins--SAIS. Immediately prior to his current post he was Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow at Stanford University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center from 2019-2020. For more than two decades prior to that he was Hyman Professor and Director of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Lampton is former Chairman of the The Asia Foundation, former President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and former Dean of Faculty at SAIS. Among many written works, academic and popular, his most recent book (with Selina Ho and Cheng-Chwee Kuik) is Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia (University of California Press, 2020). He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University in political science where, as an undergraduate student, he was a firefighter. Lampton has an honorary doctorate from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Far Eastern Studies. He is a Life Trustee on the Board of Trustees of Colorado College and was in the US Army Reserve in the enlisted and commissioned ranks.


Portrait of Anne Thurston
Anne Thurston is the director of the Grassroots China Initiative, where she works with local NGOs in China. Thurston is a former associate professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS, assistant professor at Fordham University, and was a China staff member at the Social Science Research Council. She has been the recipient of fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the United States Institute of Peace, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Thurston is also a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations. Thurston is the author of numerous publications, including The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong: The Untold Story of My Struggle for Tibet (2015), and Muddling Toward Democracy: Political Change in Grass Roots China (1998). She received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Via Zoom Webinar. Register at: https://bit.ly/38ME0m3

Mary Bullock <br>President Emerita, Agnes Scott College<br><br>
Thomas Fingar <br>Shorenstein APARC Fellow, Stanford University<br><br>
David M. Lampton <br>Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); Senior Fellow, SAIS Foreign Policy Institute<br><br>
Anne F. Thurston <br>Director, Grassroots China Initiative; China Studies Affiliated Scholar, Johns Hopkins--SAIS
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China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

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Peter Martin joins us to discuss his recent book, China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy. Chinese diplomacy in the past several years has become more assertive and its diplomats have used sharper language, earning them the title "wolf warriors." The book traces the roots of China's approach to diplomacy back to the communist revolution of 1949 and tells the story of how it's evolved through social upheaval, famine, capitalist reforms and China's rise to superpower status. It draws on dozens of interviews and -- for the first time -- on the memoirs of more than 100 retired Chinese diplomats.


Portrait of Peter Martin
Peter Martin is a political reporter for Bloomberg News. He has written extensively on escalating tensions in the US-China relationship and reported from China's border with North Korea and its far-western region of Xinjiang. He previously worked for the consultancy APCO Worldwide in Beijing, New Delhi, and Washington, where he analyzed politics for multinational companies. In Washington, he served as chief of staff to the company's global CEO. His writing has been published by outlets including Foreign Affairs, the National Interest, the Guardian, the Jamestown China Brief, the Diplomat and the Christian Science Monitor. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford, Peking University and the London School of Economics.

Via Zoom Webinar. Register at: https://bit.ly/3zDZ3D0

Peter Martin Defense Policy and Intelligence Reporter, Bloomberg News
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Introducing Our 2021-22 Pre and Postdoctoral Fellows

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Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is proud to announce the incoming fellows who will be joining us in the 2021-2022 academic year to develop their research, engage with faculty and tap into our diverse scholarly community.

The pre- and postdoctoral program will provide fellows the time to focus on research and data analysis as they work to finalize and publish their dissertation research while connecting with resident faculty and research staff at CDDRL. 

Fellows will present their research during our weekly research seminar series and an array of scholarly events and conferences.

Learn more about each of our fellows below.

Alejandra Aldridge

CDDRL Predoctoral Scholar, 2021-22

Alejandra

Hometown: Southington, CT

Academic Institution: Stanford University

Discipline and degree conferral date: PhD in Political Science, expected June 2022

Shortlist of Research Interests: Presidential influence, executive politics, public opinion, democratic norms, experimental methods

Dissertation Title: Presidential Influence on Democratic Norms

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? I admire the center's commitment to studying foundational ideas from a wide variety of perspectives, and I knew that my work could benefit greatly in that environment.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I look forward to finishing my dissertation that studies democratic norms in the United States, as well as developing the project further into a book project.

Fun fact: I am a CrossFitter and burpees are my favorite movement.

Aytuğ Şaşmaz

CDDRL Post-doctoral Fellow 2021-22

Aytug

Hometown: Istanbul, Turkey

Academic Institution: Harvard University

Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): Government, July 2021 (expected)

Shortlist of Research Interests: Political parties, social welfare policies, local governance

Dissertation Title: Explaining the Weakness of Secular Parties in the MENA Region: The Role of Political Selection and Organizational Cohesion

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? Certainly the people in and affiliated with the center. Looking forward to interacting with top minds on Arab democratization, Turkish politics, and political parties.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I am hoping to turn my dissertation chapters into two good journal publications, coming closer to turning it into a finished book manuscript, and taking the first steps into the new big project.

Fun fact: In the last 2-3 years I have become obsessed with volleyball! Both playing it and following the most important international competitions. If you see me tweeting in Turkish, I probably say something about the Turkish league (one of the best leagues in the world – especially the women's league).

Carlos Schmidt-Padilla

Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford Impact Labs (SIL), affiliated with PovGov at CDDRL, 2021-22

Carlos

Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador

Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science (Summer 2021)

Shortlist of Research Interests: crime, human capital, migration, policing

Dissertation Title: Essays on Gangs and Development

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? CDDRL’s interdisciplinary approach to the study of the challenges facing democratic governance and development.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I hope to conclude various projects on citizen security and policing in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as commence new field experiments on reducing gender-based violence in the region.

Hans Lueders

CDDRL Postdoctoral Scholar, 2021-22

Hans

Hometown: Tangermuende, Germany

Academic Institution: Stanford University

Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science (June 2021)

Shortlist of Research Interests: Migration, political representation, authoritarian regimes, democratic backsliding, European politics

Dissertation Title: Political Representation in Democratic and Autocratic Regimes

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? The great community of scholars who work on some of the most pressing challenges that democratic governance is facing today.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I hope to work on a book manuscript on the political consequences of domestic migration. The book argues that domestic migration is a little-acknowledged cause of political polarization and inequality in representation. In addition, I hope to publish the three papers that are part of my dissertation.

Fun fact: I have run several half marathons in the past. One of my life goals is to run a full marathon soon.

Nicholas Kuipers

CDDRL Predoctoral Scholar, 2021-22

Nicholas

Hometown: Falls Church, VA

Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Discipline and degree conferral date: Political Science, expected 2021-22

Shortlist of Research Interests: State-building, Nation-building, Ethnic politics, Bureaucracy, Meritocracy

Dissertation Title: Failing the Test: The Politics of Civil Service Recruitment in Asia

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? I was drawn to the CDDRL both for the group of scholars working on topics related to my research, and for the access to the broader community of researchers at Stanford. At the moment, I’m particularly interested in exploring the tensions that arise from governments’ efforts at state-building on the one hand and nation-building on the other. This is a topic on which I can envision lots of productive conversations and collaborations with folks in the broader CDDRL community.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? I hope to finish writing my dissertation as a book manuscript and work on several related article-length projects.

Fun fact: I once coincidentally met someone in Jakarta, Indonesia who had lived in my parents’ house before they bought it.

Samantha Bradshaw

CDDRL Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021-22

Samantha

Hometown: Kitchener, Canada

Academic Institution: Oxford

Discipline and degree conferral date (or expected): Degree completed September 2020

Shortlist of Research Interests: Disinformation, Social Media, Democracy

Dissertation Title: The Social Media Challenge for Democracy: Propaganda and Disinformation in a Platform Society

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? I am excited by the opportunity to work with the community of scholars at the CDDRL who are thinking through some of the most critical challenges facing contemporary democracies.

What do you hope to accomplish during your nine-month residency at the CDDRL? During my nine-month residency at CDDRL I will be working on a book project looking at digital suppression and disinformation targeting activists, journalists, and minority communities.

Fun fact: I am the proud owner of a newfie-poo puppy (aka a “newdle”) named Soba.

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The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is pleased to welcome six pre- and postdoctoral fellows who will be joining us for the 2021-22 academic year. These scholars will spend the academic year focusing on the Center's four program areas of democracy, development, evaluating the efficacy of democracy promotion, and rule of law.

Technology and Geopolitics: EU Proposals for Regulating Rights, Security and Trade

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YOUTUBE RECORDING

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The future of technology policy in Europe will be affected by growing nationalism and protectionism, cyber and national security threats, and great power rivalries. The Program on Democracy and the Internet invites you to a technology policy discussion led by International Policy Director, Marietje Schaake. Join us on September 16th from 9 AM - 12 PM PST (6 PM - 9 PM CET), as we dive into conversations on EU legislative packages, digital trade rules, and cybersecurity & geopolitics. We hope to develop a more precise understanding of how the EU and its allies can collaborate to create compatible technology standards, build more resilient supply chains, and address novel opportunities and risks presented by emerging technologies.This event is organized by the Program on Democracy and the Internet (part of the Cyber Policy Center and the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society) and co-sponsored by the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

Moderators: 

 

Speakers:

 

REGISTER

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Michael Breger

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall, Room E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

(650) 736-0656 (650) 723-6530
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Michael (Mike) Breger joined APARC in 2021 and serves as the Center's communications manager. He collaborates with the Center's leadership to share the work and expertise of APARC faculty and researchers with a broad audience of academics, policymakers, and industry leaders across the globe. 

Michael started his career at Stanford working at Green Library, and later at the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, serving as the event and communications coordinator. He has also worked in a variety of sales and marketing roles in Silicon Valley.

Michael holds a master's in liberal arts from Stanford University and a bachelor's in history and astronomy from the University of Virginia. A history buff and avid follower of international current events, Michael loves learning about different cultures, languages, and literatures. When he is not at work, Michael enjoys reading, painting, music, and the outdoors.

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Good News for Indonesian Studies

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This piece was originally published in The Jakarta Post.

Congratulations, Indonesia! What a thrill it was to open my daily copy of The New York Times on Aug. 3 and see a nearly half-page color photo of the jubilant faces and raised fists of Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu as they celebrated their and their country’s Olympic gold medal in women’s- doubles badminton.

Their first-place finish could not have been more timely. Indonesia needs good news. Bloomberg has combined 12 variables to determine where the COVID-19 pandemic is being most-to- least effectively managed.

From April to July, by that measure, Indonesia fell steadily to last place among the 53 countries covered. Such a bad review cannot be explained by domestic underperformance alone. The ferocity of the now ubiquitous Delta variant has played a role. So has vaccine nationalism—the limited and late availability of effective jabs from abroad. Not to mention less well-established variables such as the relative potency of Chinese vaccines. Whatever the reasons, there is little to celebrate regarding the risk to the health of Indonesians.

In this downbeat context, however, and far less well known than Indonesia’s “goodminton” victory in Tokyo, is an upbeat development on Indonesia’s academic front that also deserves Indonesian pride: the five-day inaugural Conference on Indonesian Studies (CIS) held online on June 24-27 Jakarta time. The American Institute for Indonesian Studies and Michigan State University sponsored the meeting with the participation and cooperation of hundreds of students, academics, and educational institutions in Indonesia and the United States. As a long-time would-be Indonesianist, I was happy to attend.

Researchers have more questions than answers. Nationalists reverse the ratio. The scholarly ideal—gathering evidence, testing assertions, birthing, sharing, and comparing ideas— transcends borders. But nationality has long shaped Indonesian studies.

During Dutch rule over the East Indies from 1816 to 1941, with rare exceptions, the archipelago’s past was largely interpreted by Europeans with colonial access. Indonesian studies were dramatically expanded and diversified following World War II. But the birth and growth of “area studies” in Western universities continued to incubate mainly Western scholarly careers.

The recent CIS was doubly important, as an affirmation and a stimulus. Its 326 presentations in 65 different sessions served to remind the roughly 500 attendees from Indonesia and 22 other countries of the breadth and vitality of Indonesian studies and thereby motivate further research.

Included on the program were a first-rate keynote speech by Prof. Aquarini Priyatna of Padjadjaran University on feminist voices in Indonesian literature; the premiere reading in English of Oh by Indonesia’s renowned novelist and playwright Putu Wijaya, whose work I remember applauding at Taman Ismail Marzuki decades ago; and a rousing performance of the wayang lakon (Javanese puppet show) Ciptoning by Ki Purbo Asmoro, ably and simultaneously rendered in English by Kathryn Emerson (no relation).

The conference also conveyed what was on the minds of the more than 300 mainly young and Indonesian panelists who wrote papers and made presentations about their country. Although the topics were diverse, some were more popular than others. A comparison may offer clues as to the subjects for research that are attracting the next generation of Indonesian scholars as they begin to shape the future and focus of Indonesian studies.

The distribution of themes is informative. Nearly half of all the CIS sessions were about culture. Culture in the sense of identity was by far the most popular topic at the conference, including religious and especially Muslim identity, with lesser attention to language and gender. Three genres of performed culture — art, music, and literature—were featured in roughly a fourth of the sessions. Five different sessions took up the blood-shedding watershed of 1965, encouragingly in the light of past silence on the subject. Only three panels focused on the economy, merely three were on climate change, and just two featured foreign policy.


It is tempting to view this evidence for the popularity of cultural identity in Indonesian studies as a local instance of two trends that some scholars have noted: a greater emphasis on identity in political discourse around the world and a related decline in the salience of ideology, including democracy.

Of the 65 conference panels, only two featured democracy, despite the alarm bell that some established Australian and Indonesian scholars had rung in 2020 in a book entitled Democracy in Indonesia; From Stagnation to Regression? Yet human rights and civil liberties in Indonesia were highlighted at the event, including the freedom of creative expression embodied in literature and the arts. A case in point was a session on “Islam Nusantara” featuring scholars from the University o Nahdlatul Ulama Indonesia.


Not even a five-day-long gathering could have dealt with everything. The relative neglect of economics and foreign policy was unfortunate nevertheless. Five days after the conference ended, the World Bank reclassified Indonesia as a lower-middle-income country, down one level from the upper-middle-income status it had previously briefly held. Also basically ignored at the CIS was a key reason for that slippage: COVID-19.

In fairness, these omissions are not unique to Indonesia. Among scholars in area studies worldwide, economists are scarce and health policy experts still harder to find. In my own conversations with foreign advisors in Indonesia during the Soeharto years, some of the number-crunching economists were inclined to dismiss the interpretation-minded anthropologists. Some of the latter reciprocated the disregard. A joke in circulation at the time held that the sole requirement that a development economist needed to meet in order to be a consultant in Indonesia was to have flown over the country once in daylight.

That disciplinary rift may very well be obsolete. But if it isn’t, it should be. Climate-friendly economic development and improved health policies are vital to Indonesia’s future and therefore to the future agenda of Indonesian studies.


As for Indonesian foreign policy, the paucity of CIS panels on that topic has to an extent been compensated for by the laudable efforts of Dino Patti Djalal’s Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia to stimulate and reward the interest and involvement of the younger generation in their country’s future role in the world.

The challenge now is to build on the success of the inaugural CIS to the larger and ongoing benefit of Indonesia’s capacity to navigate these difficult times.

View Emmerson's keynote address at the CIS conference,"Scholarship, Autonomy, and Purpose: Issues in Indonesian Studies" >>

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Flags of Asian states and text "Symposium: The Stakes in Asia"
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Talking Democracy: A Symposium on Asia

On a panel discussion hosted by the political quarterly 'Democracy,' Donald K. Emmerson joins experts to assess how the Biden administration is navigating the U.S. relationships in Asia.
Talking Democracy: A Symposium on Asia
American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) and Michigan State University (MSU) Asian Studies Center's inaugural Conference on Indonesian Studies, June 23-26, 2021.
Commentary

Scholarship, Autonomy, and Purpose: Issues in Indonesian Studies

Southeast Asia Program Director Donald K. Emmerson delivers a keynote address at the American Institute for Indonesian Studies–Michigan State University Conference on Indonesian Studies.
Scholarship, Autonomy, and Purpose: Issues in Indonesian Studies
Protesters against the military coup in Myanmar hold banners.
Commentary

Southeast Asia: China’s Long Shadow

Chinese foreign policy in Southeast Asia affects, and is affected by, the more despotic character of ASEAN’s mainland compared with its maritime member states. But the destiny of even the already undemocratic mainland portion of Southeast Asia is not—not yet at least—made in Beijing.
Southeast Asia: China’s Long Shadow
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Racism vs. the Promise of America

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When The Stars Begin to Fall book cover
About the Seminar: Structural racism threatens the principles that undergird the American creed. A national, multiracial solidarity is the best means of mitigating racism’s effects. The sociopolitical strategies of Black America – grounded in moral claims consonant with the creed but fashioned to be in alignment with contemporary national interests – provide a model for the type of solidarity the United States desperately needs.

This argument is explored in detail in When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America. Through an examination of political science and sociological frameworks, alongside personal and historical narratives, it argues that structural racism is a crime of the state, that color-conscious policy is preferable to colorblindness, and that the American civil religion is central to national solidarity. Concluding with policy recommendations, the book offers the next step forward on the intractable issue of racism.
 

Register to Participate Online

 

Theodore R. Johnson
About the Speaker: Theodore R. Johnson is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Fellows Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, where he undertakes research on race, politics, and American identity. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, he was a National Fellow at New America and a Commander in the United States Navy, serving for twenty years in a variety of positions, including as a White House Fellow in the first Obama administration and as speechwriter to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His work on race relations has appeared in prominent national publications across the political spectrum, including the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and National Review, among others.

 

In-person for Stanford Affiliates: Philippines Conference Room
Online: Zoom

Theodore R. Johnson Senior Fellow and Director, Fellows Program at the Brennan Center for Justice
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POMEPS Studies 43: Digital Activism and Authoritarian Adaptation in the Middle East

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The Project on Middle East Political Science partnered with Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and its Global Digital Policy Incubator for an innovative two week online seminar to explore the issues surrounding digital activism and authoritarianism. This workshop was built upon more than a decade of our collaboration on issues related to the internet and politics in the Middle East, beginning in 2011 with a series of workshops in the “Blogs and Bullets” project supported by the United States Institute for Peace and the PeaceTech Lab. This new collaboration brought together more than a dozen scholars and practitioners with deep experience in digital policy and activism, some focused on the Middle East and others offering a global and comparative perspective. POMEPS STUDIES 43 collects essays from that workshop, shaped by two weeks of public and private discussion.
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Larry Diamond
Eileen Donahoe
Shelby Grossman

Finding My Place in the RSP & the U.S.–Japan Relationship

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At first, I almost didn’t apply to the Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP). As someone with primarily Eastern European heritage, I doubted that I had a unique perspective to add to a coalition of students dedicated to learning more about Japan’s rich culture, economics, history, and society. In my mind, my personal experience couldn’t have been further from the course’s content. However, as a recent graduate of the RSP, my experience has completely shattered my previous misconceptions. Stanford’s RSP isn’t just an online program that gives students a comprehensive, in-depth view of Japan—it brings together a community of academically and socially diverse individuals from across the United States, along with their manifold perspectives, to build future leaders in the U.S.–Japan relationship. 

My experience has completely shattered my previous misconceptions.

My path to the RSP began in Model United Nations (MUN) and my tenth-grade world history class that encouraged me to delve deeper into the political and ideological theories that govern and shape our society. Japan was a major focus for multiple of my MUN conferences, where I descended into multiple Wikipedia rabbit-holes on a wide range of topics, from Japan’s stance on sustainable development to socio-political effects on Japanese gender equality quotas. Furthermore, throughout my dual enrollment in a MicroMasters program in international jurisprudence and a course on East Asian culture and law, I learned more about the intricacies of Japan’s Eurocentric depiction in the geo-political sphere. In the international law resources I was exposed to, Japan was often portrayed as “lawless,” while the Western legal system was presented as the “key” to maintaining a proper rule of law in East Asia. Through the latter course which focused on the intersection between Japanese culture and law, Japanese law was accurately shown as an extension of the rich Japanese culture I had learned about in my history classes; in this regard, each cultural facet needed to be taken into account with the legal theory of the state. Since then, I’ve been hooked on understanding the role of implicit motives in shaping international policy and cultural precedent in jurisprudence. At the RSP, I have been able to pursue my passions alongside like-minded peers.

At the RSP, I have been able to pursue my passions alongside like-minded peers. 

From the first week of the RSP, the diversity of students was evident. Each of my fellow peers offered their own outlook on topics ranging from “Religions in Japan” to “The Power of Popular Culture.” Across online forums and virtual classrooms, complex concepts were thoroughly discussed through witty back-and-forth banter, new ideas were buttressed by comprehensive research, and interconnected themes were explored via collaboration. The RSP’s inclusive and dynamic environment was one of my favorite aspects of the program. Weekly Zoom meetings with our instructor, Ms. Naomi Funahashi, and my peers allowed me to grasp unfamiliar concepts and take a deep dive into the things I didn’t previously know through active engagement. Moreover, at each virtual classroom, we had the opportunity to meet government officials, business leaders, and scholars at the forefront of U.S.–Japan relations. Each speaker’s ideas will forever retain importance to my understanding of the Japanese American experience, which remains equally relevant in the modern day.

The RSP’s commitment to educating the future leaders of the U.S.–Japan relationship is shown in its culmination. Near the final months of the 20-week RSP, students are given the opportunity to explore a topic of their choosing related to Japan or the U.S.–Japan dynamic. In my final paper, titled “The Rite of Rights: An Examination of Socio-Cultural Precedent in Japanese Law,” I coalesced my RSP education with my interest in international and Japanese jurisprudence. Even after its conclusion, the RSP continues the discussion on U.S.–Japan relations for the years to come by compiling and sharing all the research papers written within that year’s program. 

Ultimately, I am grateful to the Reischauer Scholars Program for creating a mosaic of different experiences and cultures by bringing together my peers. Throughout my involvement in the RSP, I have strengthened my belief in the cross-cultural intersections that bind us all together. It is through these bonds, along with empathy and compassion, that the RSP helps students weave themselves into the U.S.–Japan international tapestry, shaping the world. 

The next session of the Reischauer Scholars Program will run from February to June 2022. The application will open September 6, 2021.

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Brandon Cho at Todaiji Temple, Nara
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A Journey Through Time: The RSP as a Gateway from the Past to My Future

The following reflection is a guest post written by Brandon Cho, an alumnus of the Reischauer Scholars Program.
A Journey Through Time: The RSP as a Gateway from the Past to My Future
George Takei, Hosato Enterprises, Inc., Los Angeles
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Live Long and Prosper… and Stand Back

In his March 15, 2021 lecture for SPICE’s Reischauer Scholars Program, actor George Takei—who played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek—added “and Stand Back” to the iconic Star Trek words, “Live Long and Prosper,” as he was greeting students.
Live Long and Prosper… and Stand Back
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Kristine Pashin at the Farnam Memorial Gardens in New Haven, CT; photo courtesy Kristine Pashin
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The following reflection is a guest post written by Kristine Pashin, an alumna of the Reischauer Scholars Program, which will begin accepting student applications on September 6, 2021.

A Discussion on Democracy in Belarus with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

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THIS EVENT HAS MOVED TO THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2021 from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

This event will be held via Zoom: REGISTER HERE

S. Tsikhanouskaya

The Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) is honored to host Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for a roundtable discussion on the future of democracy in Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya is a human rights and pro-democracy activist who ran as an independent presidential candidate for Belarus in 2020. Her campaign attracted a wide range of support from across Belarus’s political opposition, and her loss to sitting president Alexander Lukashenko spurred allegations of wide-spread voting fraud and led to the largest public protests in the history of post-Soviet Belarus.


Tsikhanouskaya continues to advocate for the democratic future of Belarus despite her self-exile to Lithuania following her election loss. Her remarks at FSI are in conjunction with her July tour of the United States to spread awareness of the pro-democracy cause and lobby the Biden administration to impose additional sanctions against Belarusian industry. She will share her experiences as a leader and organizer for change and  discuss the challenges she sees for Belarus moving forward. FSI Director Michael McFaul will moderate the discussion.

 

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya <I>Leader of democratic Belarus</i>
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