[KS] Cambridge - Korea Foundation Special Seminar Series (9 and 16 June, Cambridge)

[Peter Han]

Dear Colleagues,

You are cordially invited to the Cambridge - Korea Foundation Special Seminar Series, happening on the 9th and 16th of June at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. The topic of this year’s seminar is on the trilateral cooperation between the ROK, US and Japan. Professor Emeritus Yoshihide Soeya (Keio University) and Mr Frank Jannuzi (President and CEO of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation) will be the guest speakers. Please find the detailed information below.

Cambridge - Korea Foundation Special Seminar Series #1: Yoshihide Soeya
[Special Seminar with Yoshihide Soeya.png]

Title: How to sustain the positive feedback loop in Japan-ROK-U.S. trilateral cooperation
Speaker: Yoshihide Soeya (Professor Emeritus, Keio University)
Date and Time: 9 June 2025, 5pm - 6.30pm
Venue: Room 8/9, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge

Register via Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cambridge-korea-foundation-special-seminar-series-yoshihide-soeya-tickets-1391642743909?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl)

Talk Summary:
On August 18, 2023, a trilateral summit was held at Camp David, attended by KISHIDA Fumio, YOON Suk Yeol, and Joe Biden. At the summit, the leaders issued the “Spirit of Camp David,” which defined key areas of cooperation and significantly strengthened trilateral ties. Following the summit, trilateral cooperation steadily progressed through the end of 2024, including ministerial meetings, joint military exercises, and other engagements, resulting in the formalization of comprehensive trilateral collaboration. The most crucial factor behind these achievements was the improvement in Japan–South Korea relations. Improved Japan–South Korea ties enabled advances in trilateral security cooperation, which in turn further enabled bilateral security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, creating a virtuous cycle. However, the domestic political situations in the three countries have now shifted dramatically. It is unlikely that we can expect proactive initiatives at the leadership level. Some slowdown in the progress of cooperation may be unavoidable. Nevertheless, the achievements that have been built up must not be undone. Fortunately, the leaders of Japan, South Korea, and the U.S., as well as their publics, have not expressed strong opposition to trilateral cooperation. We may be entering a period in which strong determination and commitment at the working level will be essential. Crucially, the state of Japan–South Korea relations remains at the heart of preserving the positive feedback loop that underpins trilateral cooperation.

About the Speaker:
Yoshihide SOEYA is Professor Emeritus of Keio University, from which he retired in March 2020 after serving as professor of political science at the Faculty of Law for 32 years. He received Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1987, majoring in world politics. Previously, Dr. Soeya served the “Korea-Japan Joint Research Project for the New Era” (MOFA), the “Council on Security and Defense Capabilities in the New Era” (Prime Minister’s Office), the “Advisory Group on Ministerial Evaluations” (MOFA), the “Central Council on Defense Facilities” (Agency/Ministry of Defense), and the "Prime Minister's Commission on Japan's Goals in the 21st Century" (Prime Minister’s Office). His areas of interest are politics and security in East Asia, and Japanese diplomacy and its external relations. His recent publications in English include “Constitutional Revision Going Astray: Article Nine and Security Policy,” Helen Hardacre, et al., eds, Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2021); "Middle Power Cooperation 2.0 in the Indo-Pacific Era," in Chien-Wen Kou, et al., eds., The Strategic Options of Middle Powers in the Asia-Pacific (London: Routledge, 2022); "Japan's Diplomacy toward China under the Abe Shinzo Administration," in James Brown, et al., eds., The Abe Legacy (MD: Lexington Books, 2021); and “The Rise of China in Asia: Japan at the Nexus,” in Asle Toje, ed., Will China’s Rise be Peaceful? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).

Cambridge - Korea Foundation Special Seminar Series #2: Frank Jannuzi
[Frank Jannuzi.png]

Title: The US-Japan-ROK Triangle: Lessons from Pythagoras
Date and Time: 16 June, 5pm - 6.30pm
Venue: Room 8/9, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge
Register at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cambridge-korea-foundation-special-seminar-series-frank-jannuzi-tickets-1400453146059?aff=oddtdtcreator

Talk Summary
The Camp David Accords lay the foundation for a long-overdue alignment of the United States, Japan, and South Korea as they each grapple with the implications of China's rise, emerging threats to regional peace and security, and growing challenges to the liberal democratic order.

Leadership Changes in Washington and Seoul call into question the stability of the strategic triangle, which depends upon mitigating historical tensions and pursuing a forward-looking shared vision for the Indo-Pacific rooted in open markets, common efforts to preserve the global commons, and adherence to liberal constitutional norms.

The Security and Economic geometry of the Indo-Pacific is likely to remain fluid for some time, as the alignment orchestrated by President Biden and the axis of convenience established by President Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jongun are less solid than they appear.

About the Speaker
Frank Jannuzi joined the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation as President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2014. He previously served as Deputy Executive Director (Advocacy, Policy and Research) at Amnesty International, USA. There he shaped and promoted legislation and policies to advance universal human rights, protect individuals and communities at risk, and free prisoners of conscience.  From 1997-2012 Mr. Jannuzi was Policy Director, East Asian and Pacific Affairs, for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he advised Committee Chairmen Joseph Biden and John Kerry on a range of security, political, economic, and human rights issues pertaining to U.S. relations with East Asia. During his tenure with the Foreign Relations Committee, he also was a Hitachi Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations from 2006-2007, serving as a visiting lecturer at Keio University and a visiting scholar at the Institute of International Policy Studies in Tokyo. Early in his career, he served for nine years as an analyst in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research.  Mr. Jannuzi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and Master in Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has traveled throughout Asia and has written extensively on East Asia policy issues, including U.S. relations with Japan, China, and North Korea. He lives in Baltimore with his wife, Dr. Jennifer Martin, and their two daughters Zoe and Camille.

These seminars are sponsored by the Korea Foundation.

With best wishes,

Peter

Choongil (Peter) Han
PhD Candidate in Korean Studies
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
University of Cambridge

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