[WEBCAST]  Impact of Election 2020 on U.S.–Asia Relations

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Schedule

Thursday, September 24, 2020
7:30 p.m. Moderated Discussion
8:10 p.m. Audience Q&A – Questions welcome via YouTube Live & Facebook Live

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The future of the United States’ relationship with Asia could look very different depending on the outcome of the November 2020 elections. Whoever wins the presidency will drive U.S. engagement around the world, setting policy on numerous global challenges including trade, energy, and security. Under President Barack Obama, the U.S. announced a “pivot to Asia.” Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. clashed with China over trade and technology, with Japan over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with South Korea over U.S. troops stationed in the country, and with North Korea on nuclear negotiations. Election results will also determine the majorities in Congress and which party will lead congressional committees such as Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Intelligence, and more, helping shape the future of U.S.–Asia relations.  

Join Asia Society for a conversation on what Asia policy might look like under a Democratic president, what a second Trump term would mean for Asia, how U.S. domestic policy will impact U.S.–Asia relations, and which challenges the region holds for the U.S. regardless of the outcome of the 2020 elections. 

About the Speakers

Victor Cha joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. in May 2009 as a senior adviser and the inaugural holder of the Korea Chair. He is professor of government and holds the D.S. Song-KF Chair in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service (SFS) at Georgetown University. In July 2019, he was appointed vice dean for faculty and graduate affairs in SFS. He left the White House in 2007 after serving since 2004 as director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council (NSC). At the White House, he was responsible primarily for Japan, the Korean peninsula, Australia/New Zealand, and Pacific Island nation affairs. Dr. Cha was also the deputy head of delegation for the United States at the Six-Party Talks in Beijing and received two outstanding service commendations during his tenure at the NSC. He is the author of five books, including the award-winning Alignment Despite Antagonism: The United States-Korea-Japan Security Triangle (Stanford University Press, 1999) (winner of the 2000 Ohira Book Prize) and The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (Harper Collins Ecco, 2012), which was selected by Foreign Affairs as a “Best Book on the Asia-Pacific for 2012.” His newest book is Powerplay: Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia (Princeton University Press, 2016). He is also writing a new book on Korean unification. He has published articles on international relations and East Asia in journals, including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, International Security, Political Science Quarterly, Survival, International Studies Quarterly, International Journal of the History of Sport, and Asian Survey. 

Dr. Cha is a former John M. Olin National Security Fellow at Harvard University, two-time Fulbright Scholar, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Scholar at Columbia University, and Hoover National Fellow, CISAC Fellow, and William J. Perry Fellow at Stanford University. He is currently a fellow in Human Freedom (non-resident) at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Cha serves on 10 editorial boards of academic journals and is co-editor of the Contemporary Asia Book Series at Columbia University Press. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Fulbright Association. He has been the principal investigator on 21 major research grant projects, ranging between $40,000 and $1.6 million from private foundations and the U.S. government. He has testified before Congress numerous times on Asian security issues. In 2018, he joined NBC and MSNBC as a contributor. Prior to joining NBC, he had been a guest analyst for various media including CNN, ABC, CBS, The Colbert Report, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Fox News, PBS, HuffPost, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, BBC, and National Public Radio. His op-eds have appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, USA Today, Foreign Policy, Japan Times, FEER, and Financial Times. He works as an independent consultant helping clients in sectors ranging from business and finance to entertainment. Dr. Cha received his Ph.D. in political science at Columbia University in 1994, his Master’s in international affairs from Columbia in 1988, an M.A. with honors in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University (Hertford College), and an A.B. in economics from Columbia in 1979. 

Evan S. Medeiros is the Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His research and teaching focuses on the international politics of East Asia, U.S.-China relations, and China’s foreign and national security policies. He has published several books and articles and regularly provides advice and commentary to global corporations and the international media.    

Dr. Medeiros’ background is a unique blend of expertise and experience. He previously served for six years on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia and then as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia. In the latter role, Dr. Medeiros served as President Obama's top advisor on the Asia-Pacific and was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy toward the Asia-Pacific across the areas of diplomacy, defense policy, economic policy, and intelligence. He was actively involved in all aspects U.S.-China relations for six years, including several U.S.-China summits.   

Dr. Medeiros currently advises multinational companies on China in his current role as Senior Advisor with The Asia Group and previously as a Managing Director at Eurasia Group. Prior to joining the White House, Dr. Medeiros worked for seven years as a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. From 2007-2008, he also served as policy advisor to Secretary Hank Paulson working on the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue at the Treasury Department.  

Dr. Medeiros holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science, in addition to an M.Phil degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge (where he was a Fulbright Scholar), a M.A. degree in China studies from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, and a B.A. degree in analytic philosophy from Bates College in Maine. He is married to Bernadette Meehan, and they have a daughter, Amelia.  

About the Moderator

Edward “Eddie” R. Allen is a co-founder and Senior Partner of Eagle Global Advisors, an investment advisory firm based in Houston, Texas. He serves on the management committee and all investment committees of the firm. In addition to serving as a co-manager of the Eagle MLP Strategy Fund, he is a portfolio manager for a variety of institutional and high net worth clients. Eddie is a co-creator of many of the portfolio strategies and proprietary investment management tools of the firm. Eddie received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago and his B.S.E. in Engineering from Princeton University.

Eddie holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is also a member the CFA Society of Houston. Before entering the investment advisory business, Eddie served as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Houston. Eddie is the former Chairman of the Asia Society Texas Center and is a trustee on the board of the Asia Society Global organization. He also currently serves on the boards of The Menil Collection and The Chinquapin School. He is a past board member of St. John’s School and past Chair and President of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

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