Filling the Void: The Asia-Pacific Problem of Order and Emerging Indo-Pacific Regional Multilateralism

Naval deployments have taken centre stage in the implementation of Indo-Pacific policies. Yet, as the voyage of the frigate “Bayern” exemplifies, the German, similar to other European policies, suffers from contradictions that are hidden under the “rules-based order” label.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany increased its military spending substantially. Wary of the crisis closer to home, Berlin might not be able to play its role in providing security to other parts of the world.

The combination of antagonistic nationalist currents within East Asia and US resistance against the emergence of a post-Cold War order scuttled decades-long efforts to effectively institutionalize an Asia-Pacific region. Read Christian Wirth and Nicole Jenne analysis.

The European Union and Germany are implementing strategies for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. How does South Korea fit into the picture? In this GIGA Focus Asia, we share findings from a collaborative, policy-oriented research project examining the potential scope for closer cooperation here.

Organiser: University of Duisburg-Essen Dr. Christian Wirth (Speaker)

Presentation on 'The East Asian Origins of the Democracy vs Autocracy Paradigm and its explanatory value for understanding Indo-Pacific Geopolitics'

Organiser: Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Hamburg Dr. Christian Wirth (Consultant)

Presentation at panel discussion

Ad hoc coalitions are increasingly visible, highly specialised crisis-response tools that operate outside of established international organisations. What motivates countries to set up ad hoc coalitions, and are they only complementary? These and other questions inform this GIGA Focus.

Organiser: European International Studies Association Dr. Christian Wirth (Speaker)

President Raisi is working to revitalise the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary values. While direct responses to socio-economic discontent consist of taking repressive measures, the government is also implementing a policy mixture shaped by the “jihadi” management style of a re-revolutionising elite.

Organiser: Helmut Schmidt University Dr. Christian Wirth (Speaker)

States in the global South want to choose themselves where and with whom they cooperate. This is how they safeguard their autonomy in an increasingly multipolar world characterized by great power rivalries. In the Global South Russia is not a pariah-state.

Organiser: German Association for Asian Studies  Dr. Christian Wirth (Consultant)

Organiser: European Policy Centre Dr. Christian Wirth (Consultant)

Roundtable discussion with Anna Fotyga, Member of the European Parliament;
Gabriele Visentin, EU Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific; H.E. Masaki Yasushi, Ambassador of Japan to the EU, and Shino Watanabe, Professor at Sophia University

This article reviews Atsuko Watanabe‘s Book “Japanese Geopolitics and the Western Imagination” published in Cham, Switzerland by Palgrave MacMillan in 2019. The author finds that the volume addresses a glaring gap in scholarship on the international relations of Japan and East Asia.

Naval deployments have taken centre stage in the implementation of Indo-Pacific policies. Yet, as the voyage of the frigate “Bayern” exemplifies, the German, similar to other European policies, suffers from contradictions that are hidden under the “rules-based order” label.