The University of Nottingham's Taiwan Research Hub presents a talk by
Professor Alex Tan, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Canterbury
Taiwan, ASEAN, and its Southeast Asian positioning
Thursday 20 February 2025, 4-5:30pm , A19 Trent Building, University Park, In person Event
Talk abstract
Taiwan’s awareness of the danger of dependence on the PRC market and the need for de-risking is nothing new. Since the PRC’s economic liberalization, Taiwan’s government have promulgated different policies to either prevent, slowdown, and/or manage political risk of cross-Straits economic relations. In the early 1990s, President Lee Teng-hui promoted the Go South Policy that was also adopted by President Chen Shui-bian in 2000-08. In 2016, President Tsai Ing-wen introduced her own version of this policy and renamed it the New Southbound Policy. Nine years hence, Taiwan’s Southeast Asia and ASEAN relations continues to be an ‘unrealised potential.’ Why is this the case? What are the factors that can help us understand the state of Taiwan-Southeast Asia relations.
About the Speaker
Alexander C. Tan is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury, University Chair Professor of Political Science at the National Chengchi University (Taiwan), Honorary Professor of the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College, Fellow of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies (Dallas, USA), and Founder and Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (Christchurch, New Zealand). Alex received his PhD in political science from Texas A&M University, MA Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and AB Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University. He was visiting scholar at universities in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan.
Alex writes extensively in the areas of parties & elections, political economy, Taiwan and Asian politics, and international relations of the Asia-Pacific. Alex is editor of Frontiers in Political Economy and editorial board member of international academic journals such as Political Behavior, Asian Survey, Political Science, Issues and Studies, Journal of Asian Security & International Affairs, Politics and Governance, Politicka Misao, Journal of Electoral Studies, Korean Journal of International Studies. His recent books include Indo-Pacific Security: US-China Rivalry and Regional States’ Response (World Scientific Publishing, 2024); Asia-Pacific Small States and COVID-19: Political Economies of Resilience (Lynne Rienner Publishing, 2023).
Co-chaired by
Dr Chun-yi Lee, Taiwan Research Hub, University of Nottingham and Dr Desmond Sham, Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies, University of Nottingham