Five months after the Tohoku earthquake, we spoke with Dr. Daniel Aldrich, an expert on nuclear energy in Japan, Japanese civil society, and Japan-U.S. relations. He is currently an Associate Professor of Political Science at Purdue University and a visiting researcher at the East West Center.

Why does TB continue to prevail in Asia, and what are the implications of the recent World Health Organization (WHO) policy recommendation to ban blood tests to diagnose active TB? Dr. Mario Raviglione (Stop TB Department, WHO) addresses these questions and more, including the Indian government’s response to the recommendation and what policymakers must do to curb the spread of TB.

Clive Schofield, Ian Townsend-Gault, Hasjim Djalal, Ian Storey, Meredith Miller and Tim Cook

This report highlights findings from the National Bureau of Asian Research’s three-year project “Maritime Energy Resources in Asia: Opportunities for Joint Development,” which assesses maritime jurisdictional disputes and opportunities for cooperation in East and Southeast Asia.

Maritime security expert James Manicom provides insights into the current status of the dispute and the implications for policy moving forward. Dr. Manicom is an SSHRC Post-doctoral Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo and a Visiting Researcher at the Ocean Policy Research Foundation in Tokyo.

What are the implications of the Pheu Thai party victory for Thai domestic political stability, Bangkok’s relations with its neighbors, and the United States-Thailand alliance? Catharin Dalpino, the principal investigator for NBR’s “U.S.-Thailand Alliance: Reinvigorating the Partnership” project, offers insights on the election outcome in this interview with NBR.

In an interview with NBR, Dr. Stephen P. Cohen and Professor Sunil Dasgupta argue that India rejected offers from U.S. companies for the recent fighter jet bid due to worries over supply reliability. They also maintain that to move defense cooperation forward, the United States and India should consider co-developing weapons technology to bypass U.S. legislative restrictions on technology transfers.

To preview the forthcoming Strategic Asia volume on Asia’s rising powers, India and China, NBR spoke with Strategic Asia Research Director and Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ashley J. Tellis. Tellis argues that Asia continues to encounter challenges in many areas despite economic advancement and that an effective U.S. grand strategy is necessary to face the complex international environment in a time of globalization.

Richard P. Suttmeier and Xiangkui Yao

This essay explores the factors shaping the evolution of China’s IP regime and argues that, while movement toward greater harmonization with international IP norms is evident, the direction is by no means assured.

Thomas G. Rawski

This article argues that China’s protracted economic boom rests on a long-term historical accumulation of skills and capabilities that extends far beyond the typical complement of human assets available to low-income nations.

Eric McGlinchey

This article explores the causes of Kyrgyzstan’s enduring political instability and periodic ethnic violence.