Dialogue with Dictators: The Costs and Benefits of High-Level Diplomacy with North Korea - 東京カレッジ

Dialogue with Dictators: The Costs and Benefits of High-Level Diplomacy with North Korea

When:
2022.12.15 @ 16:00 – 17:30
2022-12-15T16:00:00+09:00
2022-12-15T17:30:00+09:00
Dialogue with Dictators: The Costs and Benefits of High-Level Diplomacy with North Korea

Finished
Zoom Webinar
Date(s) Thursday, 15 December 2022, 4:00-5:30 pm
Venue

Zoom Webinar (Register here)

Registration Pre-registration required
Language English (English-Japanese simultaneous translation available)
Abstract

What can be gained from holding high-level summits with a “rogue state” like North Korea? Do those potential gains outweigh the risk of lending prestige and legitimacy to a dictatorial regime? Two speakers will lead a critical discussion of these questions.
Ambassador Alastair Morgan discusses the high-level meetings with the DPRK in 2018-19, and Dr. Meredith Shaw explains how summits are depicted in North Korean domestic propaganda.

Program
Program:
 
Short presentations by the speakers
Dialogue between the two speakers
Q&A
Speaker Profile

Speakers:

Alastair MORGAN (Ushioda Fellow, Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo, formerly British Ambassador to the DPRK 2015-2018) 

Meredith SHAW (Associate Professor, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo)

Organized by Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo
Contact tokyo.college.event@tc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Upcoming Events

There are currently no forthcoming events.

Previous Events

Discourses about Environment and Nature in the Hebrew Bible (Lecture by Prof. Thomas RÖMER)

イベント予定講演会/Lecture

Thursday, 22 May, 13:00–14:30 JST

This lecture will argue that the Hebrew Bible contains different views on nature and the environment, especially in relation to the destruction of the kingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusalem in 587 BCE. This event triggered different discourses of crisis management that will be analyzed with the help of a German sociologist Armin Steil who distinguishes three attitudes toward crisis also found in the Hebrew Bible: 1) The prophetic attitude: belief that crisis will lead to a new creation with harmony between humans, nature, and animals; 2) The mandarin attitude: view of disasters as divine punishment without much interest in the environment; and 3) The priestly attitude: construction of a mythic past that offers rituals for the present with interest in the place of humans in their environment. The last discourse offers an important reflection about a possible harmony between all beings.

Beyond World Literature (Lecture by Prof. Wiliam MARX)

イベント予定講演会/Lecture

Thursday, 8 May, 10:30–12:00 JST

World literature has been a reality since at least the nineteenth century. Texts travel across continents and cultures, translated from every language, taught in universities worldwide, and forming an emerging global canon. Never before have we been so free to read whatever we wish, from anywhere. Or so it seems. But is this true freedom, or merely a comforting illusion? What are the boundaries of this seemingly limitless literary exchange? This talk aims to explore those limits and propose a new approach to literature—a different way of reading texts, one that is either entirely new or, perhaps, simply old and forgotten. Welcome to the world library!

Equal Rights, Unequal Reality: Law and Gender Equality in Japan (Lecture by Prof. Frank UPHAM)

イベント予定講演会/Lecture

Wednesday, May 7, 2025 10:30-12:00 JST

Japan outlaws gender discrimination in virtually the same terms as every equivalent country and yet it ranks 118th out of 146 countries, 111 notches below Germany, 103 below the US. Why? Is it that Japanese culture demands women remain meekly at home? If so, why do women graduate from universities at a higher rate than men? Why do they participate in the work force at a high rate? Why do they bring – and win - employment discrimination suits? This lecture will explore these questions and offer tentative – extremely tentative – observations on the reasons.

Designing and Scaling up Nature-based Markets (Lecture by Prof. Beatrice WEDER DI MAURO)

イベント予定講演会/Lecture

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 15:00-16:30 JST

Carbon and nature markets are struggling with low trust, high costs, and limited scale—falling far short of what’s needed. In this lecture, Professor Weder di Mauro presents a new market design co-developed with Estelle Cantillon and Eric F. Lambin. Jurisdictions offer large-scale projects; investors buy shares that yield carbon and biodiversity “dividends” without conferring land ownership. Market prices reveal demand and support liquidity. Compared to credit-based systems, this approach cuts costs, boosts credibility, and supports long-term commitments. It tackles the core problems holding back today’s markets—and offers a credible path to scale with real environmental impact.

The Meaning and Implications of Being a “Visitor-Centered” Museum (Lecture by Prof. Leslie BEDFORD)

イベント予定講演会/Lecture

Tuesday, 22 April, 14:30–16:00 JST

From "Being about Something to Being for Somebody" is the memorable title of Stephen Weil's contribution to the 1999 Daedalus volume on American Museums. Though decades old and not without challenges, the phrase continues to resonate within the museum field. In many ways it encapsulates the ways in which institutions have changed from privileging curator-defined information and institution-defined goals to promoting the visitor's experience and the broader community.
In her talk, Leslie Bedford, a longtime museum practitioner and professor of museum studies, will explore the meaning of Weil's phrase and how it has been implemented by museums, including those she has visited in Japan. Her talk will include a discussion of the online conversations she is facilitating with Japanese museum professionals and academics. And finally, she will raise the question of what "visitor centered" can mean today and in the future.


TOP