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.
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.
The decade ahead promises to be one of continued rapid change
in East Asia, with one challenge that of balancing stability
and development. In the political sphere, ideology is currently
in decline, with nationalism on the rise. The division between
hard authoritarian and democratic societies has been reduced,
since most socialist states in the region can be defined as
authoritarian-pluralist in nature. Economically, moreover,
the trend towards a market economy can be expected to continue.
The opportunities for further development are strong. Yet the
challenges are no less significant: Can China make progress
in facing its daunting economic problems and adjust to a more
flexible political order? Can Japan tackle the need for further
changes in its past economic strategy and find political leadership
with greater vigor? Can the Russian Far East recover, and can
Russia resume the role of major power in responsible fashion?
Will the North-South Korean relationship continue to improve?
Can Southeast Asia avoid a series of failing states? And most
importantly, can the United States play a responsible role
in the region while dealing with the problems of its own revolutionary
development at home? These are the key issues that lie ahead.
