At the 126th GRIPS Forum on June 27, 2016, Dr. Quansheng Zhao, Professor, School of International Service, American University gave a lecture titled “U.S. Strategy towards China & Japan and the Role of Think-tank”.

Please click here to see the video of the Forum.

Abstract

The central idea of this lecture is the vital role intellectuals and think tanks play in U.S. foreign policy making. To explain this framework, this paper uses a case study from the Asia-Pacific, specifically focusing on the shift of U.S. strategy towards Japan and China. This examination focuses on a “strategic core force” troika in the U.S. foreign policy-making system and the significant role it has played in policy transformation. The “strategic core force” consists of three key elements—including “policy architect,” “expert councilor,” and “policy implementer”—which will be examined in the presentation. 

Speakers’ Profile:

Quansheng Zhao is Professor of international relations and Chair of the Asian Studies Program Research Council at American University in Washington, DC; serving as Director of the Division of Comparative and Regional Studies for three terms (1999-2008).

A specialist in international relations and comparative politics focusing on East Asia, Dr. Zhao is the author of Interpreting Chinese Foreign Policy (Oxford University Press, winner of the Best Academic Book Award by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Korea), and Japanese Policymaking (Oxford University Press/Praeger, selected as “Outstanding Academic Book” by Choice).

He has also testified at the U. S. Congress on China’s high-speed railway system, and served as Coordinator for the Global Forum of Chinese Political Scientists and a consultant for the United Nations.

Degrees: PhD and MA, University of California, Berkeley; BA, Peking University