Divided Nations and their Neighbors

This conference, sponsored jointly by the University of California Berkeley Institute of East Asian Studies, Institute of European Studies, and Center for Korean Studies, will compare the experience of Germany, the two Koreas, and China-Taiwan as divided nations.

Organizer: Beverly Crawford, Institute of European Studies, UC Berkeley

Sponsors: Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS), Institute of European Studies, Center for Korean Studies (CKS)

This conference, sponsored jointly by the Institute of East Asian Studies, Institute of European Studies, and Center for Korean Studies, will compare the experience of Germany, the two Koreas, and China-Taiwan as divided nations.

Registration required; details to be posted September 14.

The three sessions will consist of panels focused on 1) the domestic politics of division and reconciliation, 2) divided nations and regional stability/instability, and 3) The political economy of division and reconciliation.

Divided nations can foster potential international instability and domestic discontent. Indeed, the Korean DMZ and Taiwan Strait remain two of the most critical global hot spots. Internally, Taiwan's politics have frequently been driven by issues related to its relations with China. Germany, after World War II was a divided nation, surrounded by hostile and wary neighbors. Germany has now united and made peace with France, Poland, the Czech Republic. And the inevitable wariness in Germany’s relationship with Israel after the Holocaust has been transformed into a durable and mutually dependent relationship. Although the process was prolonged, Germany achieved both reconciliation with its neighbors and unification of the country. How was this feat accomplished? Some observers have suggested that the German model could be source of inspiration for unification of divided states in Asia and for reconciliation with their neighbors. But there is no consensus on unification as a desirable outcome, or even the norm. Reconciliation/co-existence within divided states might be the next best alternative, but it does not necessarily mean peace, harmony, or friendship. And it can be a long and messy process, sometimes ending in an agreement to disagree.

Speakers will focus on the following questions: Is reconciliation possible (or even desirable) in nations which have been divided by war and revolution? Is there a possibility of reconciliation in the absence of unification? What role do political leaders, non-governmental institutions and governmental institutions play in knitting together divided nations and reconciling their conflicting interests? What role do domestic politics and culture play in helping or hindering reunification and reconciliation? Is there a viable counterpart to Germany’s Ostpolitik in northeast Asia?

A closed workshop will take place November 7 at the Institute of East Asian Studies, 1995 University Avenue.