Articles by Michael Auslin

Michael Auslin is a resident scholar and the director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he specializes in Asian regional security and political issues. Before joining AEI, Auslin was an associate professor of history at Yale University

Japan’s PM tries finally to close the books on WWII

Japanese bilateral defense engagement with the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam has deepened considerably. Now, 'Bismarckian' Prime Minister Abe is on his way to Pearl Harbor. Nervous about Chinese ambitions, Japan is strengthing old alliances, and forging new ones
by Michael Auslin - 10 December 2016
Trump's pivot to Asia?

On Thursday, President-elect Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in an unexpectedly lengthy meeting. Will campaign rhetoric over Asia (and much else) translate into the reality of government?
by Michael Auslin - 18 November 2016
Chinese oppression spreads, danger lurks

China is increasingly turning away from global norms and by extension is heading down a path of more insularity. China is more illiberal, more capricious, and more repressive than at any time since at least the Tiananmen Square massacre, in 1989. Danger here. Democracies in Asia and beyond should take note
by Michael Auslin - 3 May 2016
Is the Japanese model better after all?

There is no Japanese Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders drawing on the anger of a disenfranchised middle class. Fear of terrorism is nowhere near European levels. The story of whose history -- the West's or Japan's -- was better in recent decades, and will be better in coming ones, is far from written
by Michael Auslin - 14 April 2016
U.S vs China: Showdown in the South China Sea?

The U.S. seems wary about provoking China even as it builds militarised outputs astride the world's most heavily trafficked waterways. There is a real threat here to peace in Asia, and the U.S. must not allow allies such as the Philippines to be browbeaten
by Michael Auslin - 18 November 2015
Just like Japan in the 90s, China's success story is over

China is unlikely to completely collapse. Yet the Chinese success story of the past quarter-century is over, just like the Japanese miracle ended abruptly in the 1990s. And as the economy slows, domestic oppression instensifies
by Michael Auslin - 17 September 2015
How North Korea made the disastrous Iran deal inevitable

By any account, the Vienna negotiations were an unqualified success for Iran. The reason for that is simple: America’s failed bipartisan North Korean policy set a model for would-be proliferators on how to negotiate one’s way to a nuclear weapon
by Michael Auslin - 10 August 2015
Russia and China fuel Asia’s other ‘Great Game’

The 19th century central Asian rivalry between the British and Russian Empires was known as the Great Game. But there's a new and little remarked upon Great Game emerging between Russia and China with potentially enormous consequences for the whole of Asia
by Michael Auslin - 5 August 2015
The Chinese dream is turning into a nightmare

Investors and politicians have been whistling past the Chinese graveyard for far too long. The smarter observers were already warning that China's impressive growth record may have been to some extent fabricated. The repressive Chinese government could now be in trouble, and the world could be in for a bumpy ride
by Michael Auslin - 15 July 2015
Obama weakness may result in US-China confrontation

East Asia now stands close to a precipice. China figures the US is too distracted or uninterested to care about its expansion. They may be right. But the world may pay a very heavy price for this. The prospect of armed confrontation between the US and China has just dramatically increased. Here's why...
by Michael Auslin - 7 June 2015
Three ways China and the U.S. could go to war

Beijing and Washington are each laying down redlines in the South China Sea, making the upholding of their claims a priority. In this, they are maneuvering themselves into a potential conflict. There are three real-world scenarios under which it could happen
by Michael Auslin - 23 May 2015
North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is bigger than we thought

North Korea may have more nuclear weapons than we thought, and it appears to be pushing for more. It's also growing its ICBM capability. Meanwhile, guess what Obama's up to. Hiding information on North Korea to keep his other disastrous nuclear plans alive regarding Iran
by Michael Auslin - 27 April 2015
America and Japan: Five questions for a future US president

America is gearing up for a presidential election. After the hopeless foreign policy of Obama, will the candidates that aim for the White House recognise the vital importance of Japan? Five questions to concentrate the mind
by Michael Auslin - 6 March 2015
Abenomics for Japan's economy

Abenomics may be vital to securing a real and sustained revival in the world's third largest economy. But can Japan's Shinzo Abe defeat the country's legendary vested interests?
by Michael Auslin - 18 February 2015
The return of Stalinist North Korea, and we're lost

Like the Lilliputians, North Korea will continue to tie down the world’s Gulliver. Both, in their own way, are status quo powers. The longer Washington waits for the Kim regime to collapse under its own weight, the more dangerous Northeast Asia becomes. Watch this space
by Michael Auslin - 7 February 2015