CSIS Korea Chair to Begin Study on Korea's Role in Global Order

WASHINGTON, February 25, 2014 - The Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will launch a three-year study examining South Korea's Global commitment and proactive participation in world affairs. Entitled "Study of South Korea as a Global Power," Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Adviser at CSIS and Professor of Government at Georgetown University will lead this project along with a research team to provide empirical analysis and conceptual study of Korea's accomplishments as a middle and global power in a wide array of issue-areas including official development assistance, global health, civilian nuclear energy, sports diplomacy, and pop culture. The study is made possible due to the generous support of the Korea Foundation.

The Project will report to a U.S.-Korea Binational Commission of experts on its research and policy recommendations. Members of the Commission are listed below:

Principal Investigator:

Victor Cha, CSIS and Georgetown University

Commission Members:

Jon Brause (United States), World Food Programme (WFP)

Mr. Jon Brause has been Director of the World Food Programme's Washington Office since March 2013. He came to WFP following a twenty-two year career with USAID, where he most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Management. He has also served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Relief, Stabilization, and Development in the National Security Council (NSC).

Kang CHOI (Korea), The Asan Institute for Policy Studies
Dr. Kang Choi is Vice President of The Asan Institute for Policy Studies and formerly served as a Professor and Dean of Planning and Assessment at Korea National Diplomatic Academy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1998 to 2002, he served on the National Security Council for the Kim Dae-jung presidency, and as one of South Korean delegates to the Four-Party Talks.

Michael Green (United States), CSIS and Georgetown University
Dr. Michael Green is Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair at CSIS and an Associate Professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He served on the staff of the National Security Council (NSC) from 2001 through 2005, first as Director for Asian Affairs, and then as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Asia, with responsibility for East Asia and South Asia.

Raelyn Campbell (United States), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Ms. Raelyn Campbell is Senior Officer, Asia-Pacific Region for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Policy & Advocacy team. Previously, she worked at The National Bureau of Asian Research, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Prior to this, she worked in Japan as a foreign policy aide to Diet member Shozo Azuma.  

Scott Snyder (United States), Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Mr. Scott Snyder is Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as The Asia Foundation's representative in Korea from 2000 to 2004.

Sook-Jong LEE (Korea), Sungkyunkwan University and The East Asia Institute (EAI)
Dr. Sook-Jong Lee is a Professor in the Department of Public Administration and in the Graduate School of Governance at Sungkyunkwan University, and President of the East Asia Institute, an independent, non-profit think tank based in Seoul.

Tae-hyo KIM (Korea), Sungkyunkwan University
Dr. Kim Tae-hyo is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at Sungkyunkwan University. Previously, he was a Senior Secretary to President Lee Myung-Bak for National Security Strategy until July 2012.

Woosang KIM (Korea), Yonsei University
Dr. Kim Woosang is a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Yonsei University. Before returning to Yonsei, he served as President of the Korea Foundation and Ambassador to Australia.

The first papers of the project have been commissioned. Randall Schweller, professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University, will write on the conceptual foundations of great powers and middle powers. Miles Kahler, Rohr Professor of Pacific International Relations at International Relations and Pacific Studies and Distinguished Professor of Political Science at UC San Diego, will write on the role of networks in understanding how middle powers amplify their influence in the international system. Any questions about this project should be addressed to Ellen Kim at EKim@csis.org.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 1962 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It seeks to advance global security and prosperity by providing strategic insights and policy solutions to decisionmakers.