SHSS: Events

National History Writing  and National Identity Formation – Global Perspectives

Stefan is the Director of the Institute for Social Movements, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, and Chairman of the committee of the Library of the Ruhr Foundation. He is Professor of Social History at the Ruhr University. He specializes in nationalism and national identity studies, historiography and historical theory, comparative labour studies, and the history of industrial heritage

Details:

DATE	TIME	LOCATION	VMP
Wednesday, March 21, 2018	11am	Burwood C.205;  Waurn Ponds ic3.108	ARTSED2 (36917)

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Forthcoming POLIS seminar

‘Myanmar and North Korea: Divergent Paths’

Dr. Andray Abrahamian

Pacific Forum CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies)

Abstract

The stories of North Korea and Myanmar (Burma) are two of Asia’s most difficult. For decades they were infamous as the region’s most militarized and repressed, self-isolated and under sanctions by the international community while, from Singapore to Japan, the rest of Asia saw historic wealth creation and growing middle class security. Andray Abrahamian, author of the recent book ‘North Korea and Myanmar: Divergent Paths’ (McFarland, 2018), examines and compares the recent histories of North Korea and Myanmar, asking how both became pariahs and why Myanmar has been able to find a path out of isolation while North Korea has not. He finds that both countries were faced with severe security threats following decolonization. Myanmar was able to largely take care of its main threats in the 1990s and 2000s, allowing it the space to address the reasons for its pariah status. North Korea’s response to its security threat has been to develop nuclear weapons, which in turn perpetuates and exacerbates its isolation and pariah status. In addition, Pyongyang has developed a state ideology and a coercive apparatus unmatched by Myanmar, insulating its decision makers from political pressures and issues of legitimacy to a greater degree.

Details:

DATE	TIME	LOCATION
Friday, March 23, 2018	2 – 3.30pm	BCC, Burwood Campus
Tuesday, March 27, 2018	10:00am – 12:00pm	Waterfront Campus
Tuesday, March 27, 2018	1:30pm – 3:30pm	Waurn Ponds Campus

Biography

Dr. Andray Abrahamian is an Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University and a member of the U.S. National Committee on North Korea. He is also a Research Fellow at Pacific Forum CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), Affiliate Scholar at the East-West Center and an Adjunct Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute. He is a frequent media commentator on Korea issues, has lived in Myanmar and visited North Korea dozens of times.

Please note: Andray will also speak at Monash University on Thursday, the day before his seminar at Deakin.

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‘Sanctions and Staying Power: North Korea in 2018’

Abstract

North Korea under Kim Jong Un is different to North Korea under Kim Jong Il. It is more marketized than ever before, with less government ambivalence about entrepreneurship and commerce than in the past. It also appears to have taken denuclearization off the negotiating table and has pushed forward with its weapons programmes at an unprecedented rate. Because of this, it now faces the tightest sanctions regime in its history: over 90% of its legitimate export products are now banned. Will these sanctions force North Korea back to the negotiating table and create a path to denuclearization? What options does the Trump administration have and what new risks have emerged with a new presidency? This talk will provide a sketch of the current iteration of the North Korean nuclear issue, examining its impact on both domestic social and economic change, as well as North Korea’s international relations. 

Details:

DATE	TIME	LOCATION
Thursday, 22 March, 2018	4pm – 6pm	E561 (fifth floor, East Wing), Menzies Building, 20 Chancellors Walk, Monash University, Clayton Campus (close to bus loop).