The Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA

About the Panelists

Main Speaker

Robert A. Scalapino is Robson Research Professor of Government Emeritus at the Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley. He was Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies between l978 and l990. His publications include 38 books and monographs, and some 525 articles on East Asian politics and international relations. Among his awards are the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Government of Japan and the Japan Foundation Award as well as the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit from the Government of Korea and the Friendship Medal from the Government of Mongolia. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, and a member of the Boards of the Asia Foundation, the Atlantic Council, the National Bureau of Asian Research and other bodies.

Discussants

Mr. Harry Harding is Professor of Political Science and Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs. He is a specialist on the domestic politics and international relations of Asia, with a particular emphasis on China. Mr. Harding, who received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1974, is the author of several books, including A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China since 1972 (Brookings, 1992), China's Second Revolution: Reform After Mao (Brookings, 1987), and Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976 (Stanford, 1981). His articles have appeared in such journals as China Quarterly, World Politics, and Foreign Policy. He is the former Chair of the Program for International Studies in Asia, a trustee of the Asia Foundation, a director of the National Committee on US-China Relations, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Defense Policy Board, and numerous other organizations.

Mr. Matthew Palmer, a career Foreign Service Officer, joined the Department of State’s Office of Policy Planning in July 1999 where he works primarily on Asian and European security issues. Prior to joining the Policy Planning staff, Mr. Palmer was the desk officer to Yugoslavia during the Kosovo conflict (1997-1999) and the Deputy head of the U.S. delegation to the Kosovo peace talks in Rambouillet, France. He has also served at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (1995-1997), including a year as Special Assistant to Ambassador Albright, and at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia during the Bosnian war (1993-1995).

Mr. Palmer has a Masters degree in Japanese History from the University of Michigan and a BA from Wesleyan University in East Asian Studies. He speaks Japanese and Serbo-Croatian.

About the Seminar Program

The "Asian Voices: Promoting Dialogue between the US and Asia" Seminar Program seeks to provide a forum for Asian voices to be heard within the Washington community-voices on a wide range of regional and global topics. The Seminar Program, however, will not be restricted solely to Asia-Pacific issues, or US-Japan relations, but will focus on the broader global questions that confront both parts of the world.

back to top