Description

The Henry L. Stimson Center was founded in 1989. It engages policymakers, practitioners and civil society groups to offer pragmatic solutions and analysis on a range of issues relevant to global peace and security. In 2013, it was the recipient of a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.
Asia is one regional focus of Stimson’s work. Its East Asia program, covering China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan, is co-directed by Yun Sun and Yuki Tatsumi. In addition to expertise on China, Sun has worked extensively in Southeast Asia, Myanmar in particular. Stimson’s East Asia team was bolstered in 2018 with the addition of Joel Wit and Jenny Town, specialists on North Korea who head the project 38 North , an online source for information and analysis on North Korea’s WMD program and broader military, political, economic and social developments. Stimson proposes two Asia-related projects for our consideration. The first, directed by Sun, will focus on civil-military relations in Myanmar. The second, directed by Town, will examine North Korea’s economy.  Although the military junta in Myanmar was dissolved in 2011 and a nominally civilian government installed under the National League for Democracy, the Burmese military remains a powerful force in politics, often aligning itself with ethno-nationalists and religious extremists and fomenting internal crises to protect its interests. The most egregious example is the attacks that have forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee the country and led to an investigation by the International Court of Justice of possible genocide. But military actions have also exacerbated ethnic conflict elsewhere in the country, leading to the displacement of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, including the Karen, Kokang, Kachin and Shan peoples, many of them to China and Thailand. Stimson proposes a two-year dialogue project to examine civil-military relations in Myanmar and offer analysis and advice on how external actors, including the U.S., China, ASEAN, and European countries, could help mediate conflicts and chart a path toward a more peaceful future. The U.S. and China will play a central role. Sun has considerable experience in bringing Americans and Chinese together, and extensive contacts in China. (In 2017, for example, she led a Luce-funded dialogue, conducted in consultation with China, on ethnic reconciliation in northern Myanmar and the peace process.) Project deliverables will include dialogues held in Myanmar, the U.S. and China, policy papers from the three countries to share their perspectives on the role of the military in nation-building and strategies for civil-military reform, private briefings to the respective governments, and publications. The second project aims to shed light on North Korea’s economic reform efforts. Without insight into Kim Jong Un’s “new strategic line” on the economy, crafting appropriate policy on the DPRK, including in negotiations toward denuclearization, remains a challenge since the North’s desire for economic development is linked to its stance on nuclear weapons. Town observes, “In the absence of direct engagement of North Korean economists, academics, and economic policymakers, trying to better understand where the country’s economy might be headed…requires greater access to North Korean scholarship and debate about these key issues.” Stimson plans to organize a series of North Korea Study Sessions, convening a group of economists, practitioners, and representatives of governments, intelligence agencies and international financial institutions who follow the DPRK’s economic development, as well as those with on-the-ground experience in the North’s economic sector. Participants would come from the U.S., South Korea and elsewhere to exchange information and views. The project would also translate and analyze select articles from Kyongje Yongu , the North’s premier economic journal. These translations, commissioned articles by experts, and a monthly column on economic development in the DPRK, will be published on 38 North . In addition to contributing toward stability and reform in Myanmar, the first project will bring the U.S. and China into productive conversation. At a time of growing tension in Sino-American relations, our Asia Program looks for such opportunities to foster cooperation. The second project will fill a knowledge gap and create new resources and insights on North Korea. The development trajectories of these two countries, both long-isolated from the international community, have important implications for peace and security domestically, regionally and globally. Both projects are led by promising young women leaders in the policy sphere. Our grant would support personnel, travel, honoraria, meeting expenses, and publication costs. 
Recommendation:                               That the Directors of the Henry Luce Foundation approve a two-year grant of $200,000 to The Henry L. Stimson Center to support initiatives on Myanmar and North Korea.