Cultural Bridges and Cold War Alliances: Lessons from the GDR’s Diplomatic Dance with Japan

As countries of strategic importance on opposing sides of the Cold War divide, the domestic and foreign policies of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and Japan were expected to align closely with those of their respective superpower hegemons. At the same time, West Germany’s Hallstein Doctrine threatened to cut ties with any country that recognized the GDR as a legitimate state, severely restricting East Germany from establishing diplomatic relationships with states outside of the Soviet sphere of influence.

Illusionary Trends in Strategic Studies Seminar

Recent weaponized interdependence research has focused on mapping international economic structures to explain states’ capacity to inflict costs on foreign actors. This paper proposes a different approach that integrates weaponized interdependence research with microeconomic concepts of substitution. If an international economic exchange is restricted, actors on either end turn to the best available alternative. Substitution costs describe the utility loss actors incur when doing so. The extent of these costs determines whether either side can ‘weaponize’ the exchange.

How have North Koreans settled in South Korea? A roundtable discussion

At this roundatble, we delve into the satisfaction levels of North Korean defectors living in South Korea, the reasons behind it, its impact on North Korea, and the role of the international community regarding human rights violations in North Korea. The speakers will use novel statistical data collected from the Hana Foundation's annual representative surveys of North Koreans living in South Korea.
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