The Stockholm Journal of International Affairs Issue 8 • 2013
East Asia
The Many Hoops to Freedom - Escaping North Korea • UI Perspectives on China Inside a Changing Myanmar • Perception Inconsistencies Towards Immigrants in Europe and Asia • Review: ”Africa is A Great Country” A Word from the President
Issue 8 • Stockholm Association of International Affairs • 2013
A Word from the Editors...
The Many Hoops to Freedom – Escaping North Korea
Dear readers, Maybe not the most thrilling, but certainly one of the most important governmental nominations this year was the Chinese regime shift. The Chinese impact on the world order is increasingly prominent. If the U.S took a hegemonic role after the cold war, the global arena today has turned rather bipolar – with the Chinese grasping for dominance. The theme for this issue of the journal is East Asia. The eastern part of the continent has experienced a great transformation after the Second World War. While China and other East Asian countries, like Japan and South Korea, have followed the trajectory of industrialization and modernization, other countries like Myanmar and North Korea, however, are lacking behind. Nonetheless, with is large population and continuing economic growth, the East Asian countries plays a significant role in the ongoing global shift of power to the East. The distinction East Asia is perhaps somewhat ambiguous. In this issue, however, we pay attention to events in countries and regions that undoubtedly belongs to East Asia, without trying to state an absolute definition. In the following pages Love writes about North Koreans living in South Korea; scientist from the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) gives their view on current political issues in China; Patrik show pieces from his travels to Myanmar and Christina describes an expat phenomenon in China. In the end there is also an off the theme-review of the exhibition ”Africa is a great country” written by Kitty. Pleasant readings,
Editor-in-Chief Anton Ahlén
Text: Love Lindqvist
Editorial Staff 2013
Index
Editor-In-Chief Anton Ahlén
Editor
Love Lindqvist redaktor@ufstockholm.se
Blog Editor
Caroline Wrangsten blog@ufstockholm.se
Writers
Love Lindqvist Christina Henke Kitty Kuusk
Cover Photo
Patrik Hermansson
Photos
Patrik Hermansson Jacob José
Proofreaders
Moa Lindunger Arianna Framvik Malik
Urikespolitiska Föreningen Stockholm Box: 50006 103 05 Stockholm Organisation number 80 24 06-38 88 info@ufstockholm.se
The Many Hoops to Freedom - Escaping North Korea Love Lindqvist
UI Perspectives on China Interview by Anton Ahlén
Inside a Changing Myanmar Patrik Hermansson
Perception Inconsistencies Towards Immigrants in Europe and Asia Christina Henke
Review: ”Africa is A Great Country” Kitty Kuusk
A Word from the President...
The hardships of the North Korean people are quite well known while its own people have been kept in the dark of the surrounding world. But as technology improves information travels more freely inspiring more and more people to leave their harsh native land in hope for a better life. The trip there is not always easy and the dream of a paradise at the end of the road all to often proves to be an illusion. In the end however a broken paradise can be the better alternative to a neverending limbo.
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ictatorships around the world are a dime a dozen but few are so completely totalitarian and isolated as North Korea. Life inside the nations closed borders is often difficult to imagine but in recent years there has been a large increase in defectors and with them stories of horrifying government neglect and human rights abuses. For a while North Korea was being hailed as a success-story built with the help of communistic principles while South Korea played the role of the poor cousin. But the success would turn out to be merely a façade that relied on enormous subsidies of oil and food from the Soviet Union. These ended with collapse of the USSR and for a while the North instead would receive help from China a help that would not last as Chinas own “Great Leap Forward” would have them unable to continue this help. During the mid-90s the end of subsidies combined with a particularly bad harvest result in a disastrous famine where it is calculated that between 240.000 and 3 million people starved to death, although exact numbers have been difficult to calculate due to the nation’s isolation. Defecting teachers would report how their
students would get thinner and thinner with themselves unable to do anything since they themselves were starving. Finally one day many of the children would simply stop coming and the teachers would know that the child most likely was dead. Most of what little food, water or electricity was available would go to the army so that they could maintain order among the starving population less they rebel. In the end the famine declined and restored to a kind of impoverished status quo but access to basics was still not ensured. The large famine of the 90s would not be repeated, but smaller famines would continue to plague the country for the coming twenty years. Despite all of these catastrophes many North Koreans would still choose to stay in their miserable condition, convinced by state propaganda that the conditions outside the nation were even worse. But as technology has continued to become smaller and cheaper, smugglers of media let the people experience outside information sources such as South Korean television that show them that there is a better world out there. This realization inspires many to try and escape to their Southern
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neighbor, an extremely dangerous journey that many feel it is their only choice. More and more think this way. In 1991 there were 9 defectors in all, and twenty years later they were 2737. The North-South Korean border is one of the most heavily guarded in the world. One million troops are standing watch with 40mm machine guns pointed at each other from observation posts. Defectors seeking a new life in the South therefore opt to travel roundabout. First by going for the still guarded but more easily crossed China-North Korean border, where there is still a chance of being shot by the guards, but some lucky ones can either sneak across or try bribing the guards. Both are possible, but still risky with their lives on stake. The risk is not over once they reach China though, they will often be hunted by Chinese police and North Korean agents where they if captured risk life imprisonment and subjection to torture, rape and public execution. Their hope lies in reaching the South Korean embassies in either Mongolia or Southeast Asia where they will be able to apply for asylum. While the journey is filled with hazards, for many it is still worth it less they stay and starve to death.
However the journey is still not over after reaching South Korea; the North Koreans are first subjected to extensive interrogations to make sure that they are not spies for the North Korean government. After being found believable as defectors they are sent to a resettlement center. Because of security concerns the resettlement center imposes heavy travelling restrictions on the defectors sent here. The centers use barbed wire, security guards and cameras not only for the fear of spies slipping through interrogation, but also because of the very real threat of kidnapping or physical attacks on the “traitors” by North Korean agents. Due to long term malnourishment many defectors can be in quite poor health showing symptoms such as bad teeth and psychological problems which are common due to traumatization. Depression is common especially among women often due to the sexual abuse they often have experienced, not only in North Korea but often as refugees in China and even by South Korean detectives working at the resettlement center. As many as a third of female defectors are reported as being depressed. Several other factors also have to be taken into consideration, such as easing the socioeconomic and psychological anxiety as well as offering practical training for a life in a capitalistic state. Here they learn things we take for common like using an ATM and paying a telephone bill. They also learn the South Korean dialect and even the Roman alphabet. A major function of the center is also to work as a re-education camp since defectors have to relearn historical facts such as that the Korean war was started by the North and to learn about human
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rights. For practical studies they can for example go on field trips to learn to do ordinary things such as buying clothes or go to a restaurant. When completing the program the defectors get their own homes through a government subsidy. The defectors also receive a starting sum of 18.000 dollars and continue to get 300 dollars every month for five years as a resettlement subsidy. But even after successfully jumping through all the hoops of getting to South Korea, the capitalistic life can offer some bitter surprises for the defectors. Many scam artists focus on the North Koreans and their sum of government money, seeing them as easy victims due to their naivety and fear of going to the authorities for help. There is discrimination against the Northerners who are viewed as backwards and many are shocked that their North Korean education is viewed as completely worthless. With high unemployment even among the native populace and zero social contacts this can pose many difficulties. South Korea might not be the land of milk and honey that they dreamed of, but few defectors would choose to go back to the impoverishment and government oppression of North Korea. Having nothing in the South is still better than having nothing in the North. Love Lindqvist is a student of Political Science at Stockholms University and has worked in China for one year as an English teacher.
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Issue 8 • Stockholm Journal of International Affairs • 2013
UI Perspectives on China Interview by: Anton Ahlén
The Chinese case is one of global concern. Backed by the strong economic growth, this massive country has increased its discretion and the world is closely monitoring each step China takes. When the British Prime Minister David Cameron met with the Dalai Lama last year, China responded by ignoring British interest and a Beijing newspaper stated that “few countries can afford to be tough on China”. SJIA took the opportunity to ask experts from the East Asia Programme at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) about some of the current circumstances concerning China. The interview starts with a presentation of the East Asia Programme and their research. While East Asia’s global importance is growing, intra-regional relations are still strained. Many hope that greater economic integration will contribute to peace and stability in the region, but strong tensions, unresolved conflicts and unanswered historical questions remain. In many cases, regional controversy is intensified by nationalist tendencies. Recently, instability in and around the region has largely originated in the question of how a rising China will act internationally and how the rest of the world should The recent turbulence surrounding North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric has actualized China’s relationship with its eastern neighbor. How far does China’s patience toward North Korea go? How far China’s patience goes depends on what one means by patience. On the one hand, China lost patience with North Korea after its first nuclear test in October 2006. The test was seen as a slap in the face and total disregard for China’s national interest. The test was a critical point in China’s shift from diplomacy towards punishment, and 6
respond to this increasingly powerful nation. Such questions are particularly urgent for Japan and other East Asian countries. These issues are addressed by the East Asia Programme at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). In addition to extensive scientific research, the programme’s researchers work actively to popularise and disseminate their research findings to decision makers and the general public in Sweden and internationally. See more: www.ui.se
among others Beijing agreed to UN Security Council resolution 1718, imposing sanctions on Pyongyang. On the other hand, China’s patience continues in the sense that they will not act to undermine or overturn the North Korean regime for the foreseeable future. Despite being a reluctant ally and a proponent of an opening up of North Korea (possibly following the Chinese model), China will not be supporting any form of forced regime change. In fact, Beijing will do their outmost to hinder any form of uncontrolled change. A failing North Korea would simply create many problems for
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China, including a possibly uncontrollable refugee flow over the 1400 km long border and the risk of American troops on the Chinese border. It would be a loss of prestige for Beijing, having invested a lot politically in the issue.
Mikael Weissmann, Research fellow, UI China’s new president Xi Jinping has talked about political reforms, including tackle corruption and working against official extravagance. Can we expect any major changes in Chinese policy with the new management in charge? China’s new President and General Secretary, Xi Jinping, has indicated that the struggle against corruption shall be prioritized. His trip to China’s richest and most progressive province, Guangdong, in December 2012 was a signal to the Party and wider society that the economic reforms would continue. Many interpreted the trip as a reference to Deng Xiaoping’s famous southern tour in 1992, which then signaled the steadfastness of reform politics, despite conservative opposition. Under Deng, mass media at times got freer reins as a way to more effectively combat corruption among authorities and state businesses. However,
the prospects for a similar development to take hold under Xi Jinping seem quite limited. A recent crackdown on both traditional and new media proves this point. Since Premier Li Keqiang took office in March 2013, he has given several speeches committed to further economic reform and cutting down on bureaucracy. There are some indications of creeping social reform on the one-child policy and new policies on rural migrants in urban areas. Yet, these even these reforms will be hard to implement, due to conservatism in the party-state bureaucracy. And as of yet there are no signs of political reform. In essence, for now, the new Chinese leader is a Dengist, i.e. he is committed to economic reforms, but not serious political reform.
Johan Lagerkvist, Senior Research Fellow, UI In regard of the escalating controversies surrounding the islands Senkaku (Diaoyu in Chinese), how deep is the political divide between China and Japan at the moment? Political tensions between Japan and China are nothing new. For example, China refused to meet Japan’s top leaders between 2001-2006. Yet, both sides used to be able 7
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to manage their disagreements somehow. In the last few years, however, the efficiency of this mutual management has crumbled. This failure has primarily been manifested in the islands dispute, but the dispute itself is not the root of the problem. China’s relationship with Japan reflects general problems in its foreign policy. China has a history of adopting somewhat uncompromising positions vis-à-vis Japan. As China becomes more powerful Japan perceives such behavior as more threatening than it used to. The Chinese leadership does not recognize or agree that they would be better off reassuring Japan of their good intentions. On the contrary, many in China are calling for an even tougher policy. Many Japanese increasingly see China as a severe security threat. Strengthening the security alliance with the United States is therefore generally understood as the only way to secure the country. However, the extremely close alignment with the United States curtails Japan’s maneuverability as an independent actor, and especially its capacity to find a way to coexist with the rising China. The short-term outlook for a stable bilateral reconciliation is thus fairly grim.
Inside a Changing Myanmar Introduction: Anton Ahlén
SAIAs Mentorship Programme What does the mentorship programme entail? The Mentorship Program entails to have one or two students with interest in foreign policy or political science paired with a mentor for guidance and inspiration. The mentorship extends over one semester, current round started in January (2013) and ends in June. Why a mentorship programme? SAIA’s Mentorship Programme was launched in 2010 as an initiative to increase students’ insight into working life. Within the structure of the programme, students interested in pursuing a career in international relations or political science are paired up with mentors who are professionally active within said subject areas. Previous mentors have for instance represented various governmental bodies, such as the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, as well as humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross, research institutes like SIPU International, and consultancies such as InDevelopment. The Mentorship Programme holds several functions, and is beneficial for mentor and mentee alike. For students, the programme entails: • A chance to obtain a better understanding of what it means to work with specific international or political issues, and of how various organizations function practically • An opportunity to receive valuable personal career guidance • An opportunity to enhance your professional network
Björn Jerdén, PhD Candidate at the Department of Political Science, SU and UI 8
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Read more about the mentorship programme at www.ufstockholm.se /verksamhet/mentorskapsprogram
Photo: Patrik Herrmansson
Myanmar is undergoing changes. The current easing of state policies has led to an escalating repealing of external sanctions. The recent political development might also be a sign of progress in the democratization process. However, the military still has a major influence over the country and a large number of people suffer from poverty and repression. Myanmar is also ripped by the far-reaching internal conflicts and severe minority oppression. On the following pages an extract of Patrik Hermansson’s travels to Myanmar is presented where he shares some of the stories from his journey.
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fter being released in November 2010 from nearly two decades of repeated house arrests, the Nobel peace prize receiver and prominent opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi stated that her release was preceded by a dialogue with the regime. Since then a cautious optimism about the future of Myanmar has emerged. The recent glimpse of policy change might however be chimeric. The repression is still widespread and the political reforms do not diminish the power of the regime in any significant way. The former British colony has been ruled by the military since 1962. Despite the enactment of a civilian government after the last election in 2012 the military clearly controls the political procedure. During the uprising in 2007, clips showing how the military stroke down the protests spread through the internet. The lack of civil rights was unmistakably illustrated by the brutal reaction against monks, students and other demonstrators pleading for freedom. In rural Myanmar, beyond the reach of cameras and social media, unceasing fights between different minority groups and the military have been fought since the independence. The minority groups are
heavily oppressed and the urgency for sovereignty has turned into armed struggles in several parts of the country, resulting in extensive devastation and innumerable deaths. In contrast to the civil and human repression, however, it is possible to discern some positive changes in Myanmar society. One aspect is the opening of the borders, which enables a greater inflow and outflow of people, capital and ideas. Another concerns freedom of speech. Despite the remaining restrictions and censures, the tolerance towards oppositional opinions seems to be increasing among the authorities. In addition, several political prisoners have been released recently. Still, one question remains: Are the changes a part of a greater process of democratization, or is it just window dressing; a strategic move to curb the internal and external pressures? The changes are in all cases sufficient to start attracting foreign investors. See a selection of Patriks photos from Myanmar ------> 9
Issue 8 • Stockholm Journal of International Affairs • 2013
Issue 8 • Stockholm Association of International Affairs • 2013
At the tea shops in Yangon men of all ages sit down and talk. Political subjects are usually left alone due to the high risk of informers. But things may be changing. This man was very vocal of the wrongdoings of the regime and had been imprisoned for it more than once. He talks about how the people of Burma (it’s not Myanmar to him) has been betrayed by their government. Halfway through our conversation he suddenly stops and says it’s time to leave. Ten minutes later we continue the conversation in another tea shop. He was worried that someone might listen. Change doesn’t come overnight.
Asjar was released from prison just two months before I met him. His crime was writing a report on human rights abuses in Myanmar and trying to hand it over to the American embassy where he worked. The police knocked on the door in the middle of the night; he had to leave without taking anything and without knowing for how long he would be gone. This was in 2005, he spent seven years in prison. The photo is of Asjar’s mother and father, telling me all that changed in those seven years.
These young men are students at a college outside Yangon. Every day they travel for two hours to get there. After the uprising by students and monks in 1988, universities are kept under close watch. Yangon University was split up in several smaller colleges and some of them were moved out of town.
In a village in Shan state, towards the border of Thailand, I was invited to stay the night. The Shan people speak a variety of Thai which has allowed them to cross the border to Thailand and to look for employment. Most adults in the village had worked in northern Thailand, usually for about 5-10 years a stretch. While these journeys pay for things like generators and some brick houses, the absence of family members is very taxing on everybody involved.
See more: patrikhermansson.com 10
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Issue 8 • Stockholm Journal of International Affairs • 2013
Issue 8 • Stockholm Association of International Affairs • 2013
Perception Inconsistencies Towards Immigrants in Europe and Asia Text: Christina Henke
Photo: Jacob Jose
As the world grows smaller, more and more people are working abroad becoming expats. In this chronicle Christina explores how these workers bring their own bubbles of culture with them trying to create a mirror of their native lands. How does this isolation affect not only the expats themselves but the society as a whole?
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n our globalized world, international experiences are desired more than ever. High school students are sent to exchange programs to improve their language skills at young ages, university students go abroad on exchange semesters and aim for a career coined by exciting projects all over the world. In exaggerated wording, one might get the impression, that traipsing round as many countries as possible has turned into a new desirable life goal. So-called expatriates or expats, people who are sent abroad by their company, for example to work on a different production site or to explore new market potentials, live the life many young people appear to aim for. Working and living abroad gives the thrilling opportunity of getting to know a new countries, people and cultures first hand. But when we take a closer look at expats abroad, we discover a network of expat communities with fewer contacts to the local population than expected. For example in China, entire residential districts exclusively for European or American expats pop up, facilitating a luxurious life at Western standards and habits in the foreign environment, being legitimately considered as prestigious for a life abroad. Turning the tables, Chinese immigrants in Europe who try to maintain their cultural
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background are rather decried as unable to integrate. Why the inconsistency? Living in an unfamiliar cultural sphere involves accustomizing to different food, a language and people with different mindsets. It is not surprising that – especially with largely differing countries – people living abroad are looking for a bit of their familiar culture sooner or later. This is facilitated by close global interconnections in trade and commerce. We can find boxed Italian groceries in Asia, authentic Japanese restaurants in the Australia and American magazines in nearly any commercial center in the world. It is indeed possible to maintain some parts of the way of life we are used to when we are abroad. In the example of European expats in China: foodwise, there is almost no reason anymore to get homesick. And all the exciting cultural experiences aside, after a certain amount of time with nothing but authentic Chinese cuisine, a slice of rye bread with butter and italian ham can justifiably make someone’s day. But the expat communities mentioned above bring the culture transfer to the boil. A prime example is the German village in the northern Chinese city of Changchun, a center for the automotive industry, where a large number of German companies are located. The Ger-
man influence on the cityscape has also become apparent in various facilities enabling a surprisingly „German“ life there. German schools and medical service, luxurious residential areas with German restaurants and even some German-speaking staff show the attempt to bring as much of the habitual German culture to China as possible. Even though the cultural experience in China might have been a motivating factor for the employment abroad at first, enjoying the grotesque imported luxury life in China is rarely considered as a failure of integration, but rather as a cozy break from the overpowering foreign environment. It seems absolutely legitimate to cure the unpleasant phenomenon of homesickness with habitual amenities – especially in places that do not feature the high standards we are used to from Europe. Furthermore, communicating in English or another Western language in China instead of going through the tough challenge of learning more than some basic Chinese is common practise. This exact understanding for Chine-
se immigrants curing their homesickness by bringing their own background to their new home is only scarcely present amongst Europeans. And even though we should technically be supportive in enabling foreigners to find some bits of their background abroad, the impression from public prejudices implies that Chinese people’s enjoyment of their local culture abroad is driven by an unability to integrate into the new environment. Especially regarding the spoken language, a general hypersensitivity against those who do not try to learn the local language is noticeable. Even the infrastructure coined by Chinese immigrants is seen as a service to culturally versatile Eurpeans, sometimes more than being a piece of home to the Chinese. There are some Chinese grocery stores and in large cities there is the possibility to purchase Chinese magazines. Even though most countries in Europe are still far away from the United States, where the major cities even have a typical „Chinatown“, giving the idea of stepping into a mini version of China in the middle of 13
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an American city, there are some rudiments of Chinese communities in Europe as well. Accepting the foreign culture’s mere presence and tolerating that people actually live it here are two far different things though. The differences in perception of us being allowed to bring our culture to a different country and others bringing theirs into ours do not only have their origin in the natural desire to protect our heritage from foreign influence, but we could also promptly characterize it as narrow-mindedness or a one-sided point of view. Mostly though, they result from fundamental differences in demographics and personal features of those who live abroad. The time interval of the stay abroad, closely connected to the initial motivation for it as well as the environment provided by the local community to make the transition as easy as possible are all relevant factors. But most important, whereas Europeans in China mostly benefit from a superior position in their company abroad and are sometimes even provided comforting allowances, European immigration policies make it harder for Chinese to reach such a level of life standard. Working harder under complicated conditions, having a more unfortunate situation on the labor market and encountering integration difficulties are reasons why Chinese might have a more difficult starting position in Europe. Above all, high qualifications in China are not equally rewarded in Europe, whereas high qualifications in Europe enable solid positions in China. It is important not only for Europeans, to broaden their minds for foreigners in their habitual environment. The most de14
manding challenge in the future will be to develop fair and straightforward immigration policies that facilitate integration into a culturally and structurally completely different environment and attract a qualified workforce that will be able to stably settle in. Hopefully, such conditions are not too far away in the future. Christina Henke is a business administration student from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Just after graduating from high school in Germany, she worked in China for a year to volunteer as an English teacher and to intern in a leading automotive supplier company. This spring, she spent an exchange semester at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and in fall, she will study at Harvard College in Boston as a Visiting Student.
Issue 8 • Stockholm Association of International Affairs • 2013
Review: ”Africa is a Great Country” By: Kitty Kuusk
Picture removed for online copyright reasons. You can find pictures from this exhibition by either googling Jens Assur ”Africa is a great country” or by getting one of our physical magazines at one of our seminars.
Exhibition photo by Jens Assur
From April to June the photographer Jens Assur invites us to his exhibition at Liljevalchs in Stockholm to meet “the urban Africa”. The exhibition wishes to challenge our prevailing, assumingly biased, conceptions of the African continent. With forty large-scale photographs from twelve cities in Africa Assur wants to show the new African middle class with its urban lifestyle. The exhibition intended to offer a contrasting perspective of Africa as compared to typical media reports showing poverty and disaster. For some people, the thought of shopping malls or big airports in Africa might be surprising or even shocking, but while walking around in the gallery I could not stop longing for something that offered a truly new perspective. While some modern aspects of Africa were shown, I could not stop wondering when “the new urban Africa” would appear during the exhibition. I expected to
see pictures of young energetic Africans hailing a cab on the sidewalk with a coffee in one hand and a laptop on the shoulder, but this image was far away. However most of the photographs showed decaying houses, grey buildings under construction or empty streets and houses with little sign of a vibrant urban life. The photographs showing people contained mostly men from the working class, often in a passive pose with their faces turned away from the camera. In my view, the exhibition showed mostly an impersonal and inactive picture of Africans. It only consolidated the image of the continent as some kind of slow ”Hakuna Matata” nation where nothing of importance is going on. As much as I respect Assur’s intention, I had still hoped for a more vivacious and multi-faceted picture of the twelve African countries in his exhibition. 15
A Word from the President...
The spring semester is reaching its end, characterized by the stressful period many of us are experiencing before the summer really starts. During the past months, we’ve arranged several seminars and speakerspubs, covering topics such as humanitarian aid, alternative security policy, women rights, as well as a popular career lecture with a representative from the Swedish ministry of foreign affairs. We certainly hope that you have appreciated our programme and looking forward to see you again after the summer. Though it’s been hectic at times, the time spent in our association has inspired us greatly. The topics that are discussed, the experts you listen to and the people you meet does leave you with a feeling that perhaps it’s not impossible to understand the world we live in. To know that there are so many people out there trying to make some sense out of it is truly the most giving part of it all. So if you’d like to
Simon Rose President
participate and contribute to the work we do, keep a look out in August – we’ll be recruiting new board members. When the semester starts again we’ll receive both Gudryn Schyman, Sweden’s most well-known feminist, and Birgitta Ohlsson, the EU-minister of Sweden. Apart from that we’re also trying to answer the questions everybody is wondering about – the subjects this autumn include the crisis in Syria, environmental politics, terrorism and much more! But for now, we suggest that you settle down with the Stockholm Journal of International Affairs, as this issue focuses on East Asia and touches upon different subjects such as the North Korean refugees, the situation in Burma and the expats in China. Hope you enjoy the articles and we would like to wish you all a happy summer!
Marcus Morfeldt Vice-President