Nautilus Weekly August 25 – August 29, 2008

CHINA CIVIL SOCIETY REPORT: MASS INCIDENTS IN CHINA

Yu Jianrong, Research Professor of Institute of Rural Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Yu Debao, Doctoral Student at Peking University, write, "In a time with so much social conflict, little contradictions can trigger mass unrest, affecting the whole society. If such incidents cannot be solved properly, both society and the whole country will pay a heavy price."

This article was edited by Zhao Yusi, Project Assistant of the NGO Research Center at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University.

Read the article here.

The first report in this series on civil society in the PRC is available here.

This article was reprinted by OhMyNews International and China Digital Times.

DISCUSSION OF "HOW A MOCK TRIAL COULD TURN VICTORY INTO DEFEAT ON NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR ARMS"

This article features comments on the editorial "How A Mock Trial Could Turn Victory into Defeat on North Korea's Nuclear Arms" by Leon V. Sigal. James L. Schoff is the Associate Director of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis and co-author of Nuclear Matters in North Korea. Leon V. Sigal is the Director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project in New York and author of Disarming Strangers: Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea.

Read the discussion here.

Read the original article here.

APSNet TOP STORY: NEW ARMY CHIEF FLAGS SHAKE-UP TO FIGHT MODERN WAR

The Australian Army has too many headquarters and a command structure that has not evolved to keep up with modern warfare in the "email and Blackberry age". Chief of Army Ken Gillespie announced a restructuring of high command to make land forces more flexible and better able to fight modern wars, often in heavily built up areas. The changes are the most significant since the 1970s.

Read the article.

DISCUSSION OF "VIETNAM'S MODEL FOR NORTH KOREA"

This article features comments on the essay, "Vietnam's Model for North Korea" by Michael E. O'Hanlon, Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at the Brookings Institution, which appeared as Policy Forum Online 08-062A: August 12th, 2008. This response includes comments by Kim Myong Chol, Executive Director, Center for Korean-American Peace.

Read the discussion here.

Read the original article here.

VISITING THE KAESONG INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Suk Hi Kim, Editor of North Korean Review (www.northkoreanreview.com), writes, "the solution of information issues, such as communication, customs clearance, and passage for KIC investors, largely depends on North Korea. The solution of these two key issues will not only make KIC investors more competitive, but it will also alleviate tensions on the Korean peninsula as well as spurring the economic growth of the two countries."

Read the article here.

NAPSNet TOP STORY: PRO-N. KOREA PAPER: NUCLEAR TENSION COULD SPIKE

The Associated Press reported that the DPRK's threat to restore its nuclear facilities should not be seen as "empty talk" and the standoff could develop into a crisis similar to the country's first atomic test, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper said. The DPRK's statement "must not be empty talk. If the United States moves on a road to intensify confrontation with the North... it may lead to a situation where the hands of the denuclearization clock may run backward," the paper said. "There is no guarantee that the same situation in which the DPRK was forced to conduct the nuclear test would not be created," it said.

Read the article here.