Please RSVP at http://bit.ly/july30ubc.
A decade ago Canada and Japan were both major proponents of the concept of human security and its practical application in Asia. Canada tended to focus on a narrower set of issues centred on protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict, including the Responsibility to Protect, and Japan emphasized a wider set of concerns related to protecting human well being.
With the election of the Conservative government in 2006, Ottawa stopped using the term altogether, (albeit that its "whole of government" approach in Afghanistan was essentially a human security agenda.) In Japan, however, the idea remains an evolving and significant part of Japan's approach to foreign affairs and, in the aftermath of the March 2011 triple disaster, domestic issues as well.
The roundtable discussion will focus on some of the changes in national perspectives and agendas of Asia Pacific states, including China, and identify issues that require further research and dialogue attention going forward.
The core participants will include Professors Murayma Makoto and Higashi Daisaku and Wang Min from the University of Tokyo and Professor Brian Job and PhD Candidate Anastasia Shesterinina from UBC. Professor Paul Evans will moderate the roundtable; core participants will lead off with short, informal remarks about their ongoing work and ideas for further research and potential collaboration.
The roundtable is open to faculty, staff and students at research and educational institutions, but please register via the link above.
Hosted in partnership with the Institute of Asian Research.
