Featured NBR Publications, Programs, and Activities:

Assessing Regional Reactions to China’s Peaceful Development Doctrine
China’s peaceful development doctrine is a broad strategy endorsed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), whose central goal is the transformation of China into a modern and sustainably developed country through rapid economic growth. The greatest challenge for this strategy is that Beijing must reassure regional neighbors that China’s increasing economic, military, and political power do not pose a threat. This issue of the NBR Analysis reveals unique insights by expert scholars into how India, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines perceive the potential risks and gains of China’s ambitious strategy. Order or download this issue.

Asia Policy 5
This latest issue of NBR’s journal Asia Policy features two roundtables: "What If? A World without the U.S.-ROK Alliance" and "Islam in Japan." The issue includes two essays on oil in Asia and one on China’s submarine rescue efforts. Also featured is a book review roundtable on Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland's Famine in North Korea. Asia Policy is available by order, subscription, or download.

Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia: Local Practice, Global Impact
Representatives from government, law, financial institutions, asset management groups, and academia came together for the NBR conference “Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia: Local Practice, Global Impact” at Georgetown University on October 18, 2007. Participants examined the forces driving the growing phenomenon of Islamic finance and explored opportunities and challenges for U.S. policymakers and global business leaders. NBR Analysis 18.4, "Islamic Finance: Global Trends and Challenges," contains adapted version of the conference’s opening and closing keynote addresses, presented respectively by Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, and by Shamshad Akhtar, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. Learn more about this conference.

Muslim Professional Associations and Politics in Southeast Asia
The National Bureau of Asian Research conducted a comprehensive study from 2004 to 2007 on the socio-political impact of Islamic education in five Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Building on the first two years of research, the essays in this latest issue of the NBR Analysis are the products of the project’s third year (2006-07) focus on the relationship between Islamic education and professional associations in Indonesia and Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s two largest and most influential Muslim-majority countries. Order or download "Muslim Professional Associations and Politics in Southeast Asia," NBR Analysis 18.3.

Energy Security Survey 2007: The Rise of Asia's National Oil Companies
This latest NBR Special Report is based on NBR's third annual Energy Security Conference, which was attended by leading experts in the policy, academic, and business communities. The report explores the role of national oil companies (NOC) from China, India, and Japan in the energy security strategies of these countries’ governments and assesses the major implications of the NOCs’ global expansion for geopolitics and industry competitiveness. Read the report.

Technical Standards and Innovation in China On October 29, 2007, The National Bureau of Asian Research and Tsinghua University co-organized a conference on "Technical Standards and Innovation in China: Public Policy and the Role of Stakeholders" in Beijing, China. This conference addressed the relationship between stakeholders, standards development, and innovation in China and builds on NBR's groundbreaking research on intellectual property and standards development in China. NBR will publish a conference report in spring 2008 written by  Professors Scott Kennedy, Richard P. Suttmeier, and Su Jun. Click here to learn more about the project and to read the past project publications.

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Annual Conference
Described by DefenseNews.Com as “the premier academic and government conference on China’s army," this annual invitation-only conference assembles the world’s leading scholars to examine critical trends in the study of China’s military. On September 28–30 NBR and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College co-hosted the 18th annual conference entitled "The 'People' in the PLA: Recruitment, Training and Education in China's 80-year old Military." See this year’s conference colloquium brief and read a transcript from the September 24 book launch event marking the release of Right-Sizing the Peoples Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China's Military, the new publication resulting from the 2006 conference.

U.S.-ROK Alliance: Implications of an Alternative Future
What would a world in which the U.S.-ROK alliance no longer existed be like? NBR partnered with the Korean Institute for Future Strategies (KiFS) to convene a conference on September 10-11, 2007, in Seoul, South Korea, exploring potential implications of this scenario. Leading U.S. and Korean figures from across the political spectrum in academia, business, and civil society engaged in a rigorous “alternative futures” exercise that illuminated the potential costs and benefits for both parties of such a dramatic shift. Click here to learn more about the project and to read the conference report.  

Admiral Dennis Blair, NBR's John M. Shalikashvili Chair, Testifies before House Select Committee
In written testimony before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Admiral Dennis C. Blair (ret.) described his involvement with the Energy Security Leadership Council and summarized key points from Oil ShockWave, a crisis simulation developed to demonstrate the geopolitical, strategic, and economic dangers of oil dependence. Admiral Blair's testimony coincides with NBR's growing work on energy security and the environment, which examines issues related to Asia's energy challenges.

The John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies
On September 26, 2007, NBR announced the appointment of Admiral Dennis C. Blair to the John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies. Admiral Blair will advance the study of national security issues and address critical U.S. interests in Asia through research projects, publications, conferences, and briefings to senior policymakers and business leaders. For more information on Admiral Blair and the John M. Shalikashvili Chair, click here.

Strategic Asia 2007–08 Available Now
Strategic Asia 2007–08: Domestic Political Change and Grand Strategy, edited by Ashley J. Tellis and Michael Wills, examines the varied political transitions and internal changes occurring in pivotal Asian states and evaluates the impact on Asian foreign policymaking and strategy. Learn more about the new volume or order now. Read or listen to panel discussions from the Carnegie-NBR workshop on "South Asia from the Inside-Out: Domestic Politics and Grand Strategy" that marked the book launch.

Pyle Center for Northeast Asian Studies
On November 17, 2006, NBR dedicated the Kenneth B. and Anne H.H. Pyle Center for Northeast Asian Studies. The Center's inauguration featured a two-day international conference and a formal evening gala. The newly launched Pyle Center will conduct research on Northeast Asia to advance the comprehensive study of the region, particularly as it pertains to its security, political, and economic dynamics. Click on the link to view Professor Pyle’s keynote address.