Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading experts and scholars. In addressing the most pressing problems facing the world with expertise from around the globe, Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy-making process and enable the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces.

The “conversational” format of the Plenum is intended to maximize interaction among panelists and participants. Plenary and concurrent sessions will provide further in-depth discussions and networking opportunities. The Plenum features two plenary sessions and four concurrent sessions. Plenary sessions will be held for 1 hour and 20-30 minutes, and all concurrent sessions will be held for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading experts and scholars. In addressing the most pressing problems facing the world with expertise from around the globe, Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy-making process and enable the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces.

The “conversational” format of the Plenum is intended to maximize interaction among panelists and participants. Plenary and concurrent sessions will provide further in-depth discussions and networking opportunities. The Plenum features two plenary sessions, four concurrent sessions and one special session. Plenary sessions will be held for 1 hour and 20 minutes, all concurrent sessions will be held for 1 hour and 15 minutes, and special session will be held for an hour.

Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of some of the world’s leading experts and scholars.

In addressing the most pressing problems facing the world with expertise from around the globe, Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy-making process and enable the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces.

The “conversational” format of the Plenum is intended to maximize interaction among panelists and participants. Plenary and concurrent sessions will provide further in-depth discussion and networking opportunities. The Plenum features three plenary sessions and two concurrent sessions. Plenary session 1 is 1 hour and 30 minutes, and the others are 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading experts and scholars.

In addressing the most pressing challenges facing the world with expertise from around the globe, the Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy making process and enable the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces.

The Plenum is a two-day, multi-session conference organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on leadership issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum will allow for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions will also provide further opportunity for in-depth, focused discussions.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading experts and scholars.

In addressing the most pressing challenges facing the world with expertise from around the globe, the Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy making process and enable the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces.

The Plenum is a two-day, multi-session conference organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

Since the end of World War II, the rise of the “Liberal International Order,” (LIO) or the “rules based international order,” has brought the world remarkable peace and prosperity. Today, however, the LIO faces serious challenges. North Korea is on the verge of acquiring a fully operational nuclear weapons capability. China, perhaps the country that has benefitted the most from the LIO, is now seeking its own “order” in East Asia and beyond. Russia is militarily challenging the expansion of the European Union, while the Middle East is experiencing persistent civil wars and military clashes. The proliferation of cyber-warfare and international terrorist organizations supported by “illiberal” regimes also threaten the LIO.

Just as serious are the challenges arising from within the LIO’s “heartland.” The spread of the LIO has had its own downside, including income disparity within and between nations and increased social and political polarization, even in countries like the U.S. and Great Britain. The election of U.S. President Donald Trump and “Brexit” have raised serious doubts about the sustainability of the liberal international trade order and the security architecture that has undergirded it.

As in previous years, the Asan Plenum 2018 will gather leading experts from around the world to engage in intensive discussions pertaining to this year’s theme. I hope that you will join us as we seek answers to these challenges.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on leadership issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum will allow for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions will also provide further opportunity for in-depth, focused discussions.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading experts and scholars.

In addressing the most pressing challenges facing the world with expertise from around the globe, the Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy making process and enable the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces.

The Plenum is a two-day, multi-session conference organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

In today’s world, there seem to be too many things that are not normal that are being accepted in the name of the “new normal.” Even though many condemn and worry about the situation in Syria, ISIS inspired terrorism, the migration crisis in Europe, the Ukraine-Russia situation, the fraying of the EU, South China Sea, and North Korean nuclear crisis, just to name a few, they are all increasingly viewed as “intractable,” amenable only to “long-term solutions,” and hence accepted as the “new normal.”

Even though the slower economic growth in China is, indeed, a “new normal” that must be accepted as it is, what the world needs in the case of the other crises is inspired leadership from individual leaders and nations. The problem is that given the election year in the U.S., the economic downturn in China, turmoil in the EU, and near-crisis in Russia, continuing economic doldrum in Japan, etc., it is difficult to see where this needed global leadership and new vision will come from. This year’s Asan Plenum hopes to address these questions.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on leadership issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum will allow for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions will also provide further opportunity for in-depth, focused discussions.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading think tanks in Seoul to discuss the pressing challenges facing the world today. The Plenum aims to positively influence the policymaking process and enable the global community to better address these challenges.

American decline has emerged as a powerful discourse in recent years. A decade of war, a protracted financial crisis, and the return of multipolarity were all seen as eroding American global leadership. This also raised doubts about the American commitment to its partners and allies around the world, including in East Asia. But, today we are once again witnessing a resurgence in American power backed by groundbreaking revolutions in energy, finance, and military affairs. At the same time, transnational threats such as terrorism, cyber-warfare, and nuclear proliferation continue to call for global leadership. How does the “return of the U.S.” affect regional balance of power in different parts of the world? Can it overcome the strategic distrust that presently dominates interactions between great and small power alike?

This year’s Plenum will bring together distinguished experts, policymakers, scholars, and members of the media in Seoul for two days to provide insights and seek answers to these questions. The Plenum will feature four plenary sessions and 12 panels over two days.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on leadership issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum will allow for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions will also provide further opportunity for in-depth, focused discussions.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading experts and scholars to discuss the pressing challenges facing the world. The plenum is a multi-day, multi-session conference organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. In addressing the most pressing challenges facing the world with expertise from around the globe, the Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy making process enabling the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces.

With the end of the Cold War, some proclaimed the “End of History.” Twenty years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, however, we live in a much more uncertain world. Great power rivalries have intensified, free market economies are floundering, and liberal democracies are increasingly dysfunctional. Xenophobia and racism are spreading. Territorial disputes have been exacerbated while hopes for regional integration are fading. What is the future of great power relations and international order? Can regionalism contain nationalism? Is the ideal of an international community based on universal norms and principles still attainable?

This 2014 Plenum will bring together distinguished experts, policymakers, scholars, and members of the media in Seoul for two days to provide insights and seek answers to these questions. The Plenum will feature five plenary sessions and 15 panels over two days.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on leadership issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum will allow for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions, as well as intimate group lunch sessions, will provide further opportunity for in-depth, focused discussions.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading think tanks in Seoul, Korea to discuss the pressing challenges facing the world. The plenum is a multi-day, multi-session conference organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. In addressing the most pressing challenges facing the world with expertise from around the globe, the Asan Plenum aims to impact the policy making process enabling the global community to better deal with the challenges it faces. The Plenum features four plenary sessions and 18 regular panels over two days.

At the end of the first Gulf War, United States President George H. W. Bush famously declared that the international community was on the cusp of a “new world order.” Freed from the hostilities and anachronisms of the Cold War, the twenty-first century promised to usher in a new era of global cooperation and prosperity. Yet even as some scholars proclaimed the ‘End of History’ and the triumph of a liberal international order, others were already forecasting the chaos and instability that they believed was to come.

The world today has changed much since President Bush uttered those hopeful words. Indeed, open great power conflict has almost become a relic of the twentieth-century. Many countries, perhaps none more so than Korea, have prospered under the liberal free-market economic order of the past twenty years. Economic integration has given us the European Union as well as countless multilateral free trade agreements. And technological progress has transformed the world, producing remarkable innovations in every field of research, and improving the lives of billions of people. In many regards, the world has never been freer, safer, or more prosperous.

Yet, this new world order is also characterized by unprecedented instability and uncertainty. The American unipolar moment has long since given way to the dramatic rise of China and newly-emerging great powers. This generation’s greatest financial crisis continues to stifle global economic recovery while the old economic centers of Europe and Japan appear to be in irreversible decline. The Middle East and North Africa is in the midst of the greatest political upheaval and change since the end of colonialism. And, most significantly, at a time when many are increasingly questioning the very future of the current international order, the world appears leaderless. This is a time when real leadership and visionary ideas are most needed.

The 2013 Plenum will bring together distinguished experts and scholars to share their insights into the nature and implications of the current world order and prospects for the emergence of a new one.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on leadership issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum will allow for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions, as well as intimate group lunch sessions, will provide further opportunity for in-depth, focused discussions.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading think tanks in Seoul, Korea to discuss the pressing challenges facing the world. The Asan Plenum is a multi-day, multi-session conference with each panel organized by an individual global think tank. This division of labor capitalizes on each think tank’s different strengths and expertise and ensures a diversity of opinion and perspective, so as to bring together as wide and deep a knowledge base as possible. In addressing the most pressing challenges facing the world with experts from around the globe, the Asan Plenum aims to positively influence the policymaking process and enable the international community to better address those challenges.

From the uprisings across the Arab world to the seismic tremors in the European Union, and from the ravaged economy of the United States to the Fukushima disaster in Japan, the world is beset with crises, many of which resonate far beyond national borders. Such crises can unmake—or forge—political leaders. 2012 marks a particularly significant year for political leadership, with an unusually large number of elections and other political transitions taking place around the world. The Asan Plenum 2012 convened policymakers, analysts, scholars and members of the media in Seoul for three days of intensive discussion about the role of leadership in responding to a wide range of political and economic crises around the globe. How are leaders responding to crises? Where have they been effective or ineffective and why? And how should new leaders prepare to face the challenges confronting them as they take office? This year’s Asan Plenum featured 23 regional panels and four additional panels covering a range of cross-regional issues. Four plenary sessions brought the heads of some of the world’s leading think tanks together with renowned public intellectuals and journalists to discuss the crises and broad trends defining today’s global political landscape.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on leadership issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum allows for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions and intimate group lunch sessions provide further opportunities for in-depth and focused discussions.

The Asan Plenum is a yearly gathering of the world’s leading think tanks in Seoul, Korea to discuss the pressing challenges facing the world. The Plenum is a multi-day, multi-session conference with each panel organized by an individual global think tank. This division of labor capitalizes on the differing areas of expertise of each think tank, as well as ensuring diversity of opinion and perspective so as to bring together as wide and as deep a knowledge-base as possible. In addressing the most pressing challenges facing the world with expertise from around the globe, the Asan Plenum thereby aims to impact the policy making process enabling the global community to better address the challenges it faces.

This year’s Asan Plenum, entitled Our Nuclear Future, will bring together 250 leading nuclear scientists, engineers, policy experts, and public intellectuals. With South Korea set to host the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit in March 2012, the recent crisis in Japan, and North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, the Plenum will play an important role in setting the global agenda on nuclear issues. Five major themes will be the focus of the Plenum: nonproliferation, disarmament, peaceful use, nuclear security, and deterrence. The Plenum will initiate a much needed comprehensive reassessment of safety and security issues which have crucial implications for our nuclear future.

In terms of both timing and location, the Asan Plenum is designed to maximize its impact on the unfolding global conversation on nuclear issues. The “conversational” format of the plenum will allow for maximum interaction among the panelists and participants. Parallel break-out sessions, as well as intimate group lunch sessions, will provide further opportunity for in-depth, focused discussions.