SECWAC Presents 'Northeast Asia at the Crossroads' April 12 in Old Lyme

Alexis Dudden, PhD, UConn, presents Northeast Asia at the Crossroads?
 

When: Thursday, April 12, 2018, 5:30pm reception, 6:00pm presentation

Where: Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School

The Topic: Today’s fluid and complex situation in Northeast Asia with a special emphasis on Korea.

Presenter: Alexis Dudden, PhD, Professor of History at the University of Connecticut

 

Dinner: Following the presentation, join Alexis, guests, and fellow members for a delicious meal at Old Lyme Country Club. $35/person.
 

A reservation for dinner is required by Friday, April 6. Please call 860-912-5718 or email info@secwac.org to make your reservation (vegetarian option available if reserved in advance). Checks payable to SECWAC or credit card payment are accepted before the meeting by Courtney Assad.
 

Learn more at secwac.org.

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Alexis Dudden is a Professor of History at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Dudden holds a BA (magna cum laude) from Columbia University, and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Chicago. She is the author of several books and academic articles on Japan and Korea, and is currently writing a book about Japan’s territorial disputes and the changing meaning of islands in international law. 

 

In a WNPR interview in 2017, Dr. Dudden commented that part of the North Korean leadership’s strategy for survival goes back to the end of the Soviet Union, and, specifically to the execution of the Romanian leader Nicolau Ceaucescu, as well as to the Bush “Axis of Evil” speech in 2002, which prompted the Kim regime to accelerate the development of nuclear technology.  How this meshes with the rise of China and the status of Japan is captured in her interview in The Diplomat in 2015, when she commented, “Today we see the return of the more traditional world order in East Asia, one that is increasingly focused around China. The dominance of Japan that shaped the 20th century is fading and the impact of the ‘Western powers’ is less critical, at least in the popular imagination.”

 

We hope you enjoyed the presentation on March 5 by Professor Charles Venator-Santiago. It was a very passionate, boots-on-the-ground look at Puerto Rico, its constitutional status, and infrastructure in the aftermath of recent hurricanes.

 

Anthony Pelligrini will speak on “China’s Belt Road Initiative: The New 'Silk Road'" on May 16, 2018 at the La Grua Center in Stonington.
 

This foreign policy initiative is a manifestation of China’s new policy under President Xi to take global leadership on issues of trade and globalization.  And it is happening as the US retreats from the global stage.  Mr. Pellegrini will talk about the historical silk routes, discuss China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI, the “new silk routes”), including some of the motivations for the initiative, compare the BRI with Europe’s TEN networks and South America’s IIRSSA networks, discuss some of the real risks of the BRI for China, and conclude with a discussion of some of the implications for China’s role in the world.

 

SECWAC is a membership organization. A guest of a member may attend once as a complimentary guest. Thereafter a previous guest can attend for $20 per session or may sign up for full membership.

 

Half Membership for the remainder of this season (February - June 2018) is $37.50/person. $12.50/person for Young Professionals under 35. FREE for students.

Guest attendance cost of $20 can be applied to membership fees.

 

Learn more and download the application here.

 

Reporters are welcome to attend as guests of the SECWAC Board.  Interested reporters should contact Paul Nugent at info@secwac.org or 860-388-9241.