Japan, the United States, and the Future of World Order
About the Program
The Japan, the United States, and the Future of World Order program at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) explores key issues in international relations and the ways in which the evolving nature of world order will affect the relationship between Japan and the United States in the years and decades to come. Through virtual workshops, the program convenes leading experts from the worlds of policy and academia to share their insights in conversation and through submitted papers, and to enrich our understanding of these crucial policy questions. Generously supported by the Government of Japan, this program explores US-Japan relations in global politics and world order by convening international conferences across sectors.
Featured Event
Europe, Japan, and the United States in a Changing World
On March 24 and 25, 2022, the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs hosted a global virtual conference, "Europe, Japan, and the United States in a Changing World," to convene experts from around the world to discuss key issues facing Europe, Japan, and the United States. While the United States has shifted much of its grand strategic concern to East Asia and particularly the rise of China, Europe has returned to a position of fundamental importance. A Europe once thought to be stable and secure has been increasingly confronted by a variety of challenges, especially Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, Europe’s member states harbor their own views and interests in Asia and towards China, which, as the recent AUKUS crisis revealed, do not always align with those of the United States. Many issue areas—from economics and regulation, trade and finance, and emerging technology, to statecraft and military strategy—generate different responses from states in Europe and East Asia and the United States. Each has also had different experiences with the transnational challenges of our time, including migration, climate change, and the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. How similar are Europe, Japan, and the United States’ views of global order? How will Russia’s attack on Ukraine affect East Asia and what are the consequences for world order? Are there opportunities for further consultation, cooperation, and grand strategic integration?
Building on the efforts of last year to explore the United States, Japan, and the future of world order and East Asia, the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs is pleased to have hosted its second conference to convene leading practitioners and scholars in a series of discussions to explore these pressing issues.
Past Events
Japan, the United States, and the Future of World Order
In March 2021, the program hosted its inaugural workshop, “Japan, the United States, and the Future of World Order,” a two-day, public conference featuring expert insights from current and former government officials, policymakers, and leading experts in the field. Panelists discussed the relationship between Japan and the United States, the effects of China’s evolving grand strategy, conflict and cooperation on the Korean peninsula, new technologies, the region’s military balance, the increased importance of transnational issues ranging from climate change to global public health, and key issues in the Indo-Pacific in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following introductory remarks from Professor Francis J. Gavin, Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Dr. Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council, delivered the keynote address, moderated by the Hon. James B. Steinberg, University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs, and Law at Syracuse University. In his remarks, Dr. Campbell identified five important issue areas for US policy in region: the Biden administration’s emphasis on bipartisanship in foreign affairs, collaboration with allies, aligning on common issues with China and across Asia, concurrent policies for great power competition and existential threats, and the importance of Japan-South Korea relations for the world. “For the first time really in modern history, the Indo-Pacific, Asia, is the dominant theater of activity,” Campbell said. Campbell also emphasized the importance of increasing regional expertise in government and of educational exchange between the US and Japan.
Conference Agenda
Day One
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Opening
Keynote Discussion
- Dr. Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, National Security Council, The White House
- Moderated by The Honorable James B. Steinberg, University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs, and Law, Syracuse University
Panel 1
- Professor Yuichi Hosoya, Professor of International Politics, Faculty of Law, Keio University
- Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
- Chair and Commentator: Dr. Saori Katada, Professor of International Relations, University of Southern California Dornsife College
Panel 2
- Professor Hal Brands, Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins SAIS; Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
- Professor Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Director of Asian Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
- Chair and Commentator: Ms. Emma Chanlett-Avery, Specialist in Asian Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service
Day Two
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Opening
Panel 3
- Professor Jennifer M. Lind, Associate Professor of Government, Dartmouth University; Faculty Associate, Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies, Harvard University; Research Associate, Chatham House, London
- Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae, President, The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)
- The Honorable James B. Steinberg, University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs, and Law, Syracuse University
- Chair and Commentator: Dr. Zack Cooper, Research Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Panel 4
- Professor Francis J. Gavin, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins SAIS; Inaugural Director, Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs
- Professor Satoru Mori, Professor, Hosei University
- Dr. Mireya Solís, Director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies; Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, Brookings Institution
- Chair and Commentator: Professor G. John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
Closing
Our Funder
Generously supported by the Government of Japan, this program explores US-Japan relations in global politics and world order by convening international conferences across sectors.
About the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs
The Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs seeks to generate and apply rigorous historical thinking to the most vexing global challenges. The Center is home to distinguished scholars of history and practitioners in foreign policy and international security and aims to bridge the world of ideas and the world of action by bringing together leading thinkers and policymakers.