The Institute for Japanese Studies, Seoul National University is pleased to host “Japan, Asia, and the Cold War Liberal Order Revisited in the Post-post Cold War Era,” the first international symposium of the Three-Year International Conference Project, “The Frontier of Japanese Studies in the ‘Post’ Era,” sponsored by Toshiba International Foundation.

O Date and Venue: December 14, 2023 (Thu) 9:30-18:00 / International Conference Room, GSIS, SNU

O Language: English and Korean (simultaneous interpretation provided)

* Lunch boxes will be provided for the on-site participants (Please note that they are available on a first-come, first-served basis and subject to availability.)

The crisis of the liberal order, both domestic and international, has been deemed as a defining characteristic signaling the end of the post-Cold War era. A defensive and nostalgic view of the Cold War and post-Cold War liberal order, however, can be as misleading as it is obsolete. This conference aims to reconsider the liberal order and its crisis in Asia in light of the long-term and ongoing effects of imperialism and the Cold War. Instead of blaming the predicament simply on the rise of illiberal powers and the growth of illiberal tendencies within democracies over recent years, we would like to open a forum for greater critical and collaborative reflection on the current situation by illuminating the deep-rooted nature of the crisis and the hopes and discontents engendered by the liberal order, and assess its key achievements and limitations relative to the long Cold War.

*You can find the abstract for presentations in the attached pdf file of the brochure.