The Institute for Korean Studies presents
"The US Pivot and Regional Security in Northeast Asia"
David Kan g, Professor
School of International Relations & the Marshall School of Business
Director, USC Korean Studies Institute & USC Center for International Studies
University of Southern California
Register here for this event (required)
Flyer: 
David Kang US Pivot Flyer.pdf
Abstract: For over a quarter century, there have been dire and continued predictions that East Asia is experiencing an arms race, that the regional security dilemma is intensifying, and that dangerous instability driven by China is just around the corner. Yet in reality, over the past twenty-five years, the proportion of the economy devoted to defense spending in East Asia has steadily declined. Is East Asia actually more peaceful than the conventional wisdom might suggest? If so, why? I argue that there is little evidence that East Asian states are engaged in an arms race, that few states are sending costly signals about their resolve to suffer the costs of war, that there is indeed almost no evidence that states in the region are preparing for war, and that the region is more peaceful, stable, and prosperous now than at anytime in the past century. If the region is more stable than popularly believed, then the U.S. pivot to East Asia should remain focused on diplomatic and economic initiatives and not get sidetracked with military issues.
Bio: David C. Kang is Professor of International Relations and Business at the University of Southern California, with appointments in both the School of International Relations and the Marshall School of Business. He is also Director of USC Korean Studies Institute and Director of the USC Center for International Studies. Previously he was a professor at Dartmouth College’s Government Department and Tuck School of Business (1996-2009).
Kang’s latest book is "East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute" (Columbia University Press, 2010). He is also author of "China Rising: Peace, Power, and Order in East Asia" (Columbia University Press, 2007); "Crony Capitalism: Corruption and Development in South Korea and the Philippines" (Cambridge University Press, 2002), and "Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies" (co-authored with Victor Cha) (Columbia University Press, 2003). An article about David Kang and Victor Cha can be found in KoreAm magazine: A Brilliant Rivalry: Victor Cha and David Kang.
Kang has published numerous scholarly articles in journals such as International Organization and International Security, and his co-authored article “Testing Balance of Power Theory in World History” was awarded “Best article, 2007-2009,” by the European Journal of International Relations. Kang has also written opinion pieces in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as writing a monthly column for the Joongang Ilbo in Korean. He received an A.B. with honors from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from Berkeley.
Free and open to the public.
This event is sponsored in part by a grant from the Korea Foundation and the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies and a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.
