Alan Hao Yang

By Sana Hashmi and Alan H. Yang

Foreign policy, traditionally focused on state-led decision-making and policy implementation, has undergone profound changes due to globalization and democratization. Civil society, particularly think tanks, alongside the growing emphasis on soft power and warm power, now significantly shape policy agendas, moving beyond the conventional reliance on hard power. These transformations mark new frontiers in foreign policy analysis. This chapter explores three key dimensions of these evolving dynamics. First, it examines the role of civil society and think tanks, in particular, emphasizing the concept of think tank diplomacy. Second, it investigates the incorporation of soft power and warm power into foreign policy frameworks. Finally, it presents three case studies from the Indo-Pacific region—Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP-T), South Korea’s New Southern Policy (NSP-K), and Australia’s New Southeast Asia Economic Strategy. By drawing on these examples of middle powers, the chapter provides fresh perspectives on contemporary foreign policy analysis.

Part of the book: International Relations

By Alan Hao Yang

Part of the book: Global Peace

By Alan Hao Yang

As Global Security has been in turbulence and shadowed by uncertainty, Efforts to safeguard global peace and stability through the materialization of peach studies needs to be scrutinized. This chapter will indicate that hard security contributes to hard peace, while soft security would contribute to soft peace. The chapter will address the research question regarding “compared with great powers and major power, how can non-hegemonic middle or small power promote peace, by enhancing security, and strengthening their capacity to sustain and safeguard peace?” In this respect, the chapter presents a new perspective where hard and soft peace are combined under the model of “resilience-oriented preparedness”, especially focusing on the formation of “security resilience” as the foundation for materializing peace in the world. Thus, this chapter will use Taiwan as a case study to analyze the factors that jeopardize Taiwan’s peace and the cultivation of its security resilience. Taiwan’s case is quite unique and has been informative in recent years. While Taiwan’s leading position in high technology and semiconductor manufacturing are widely recognized, as a middle-power, Taiwan has more to offer than just semiconductors; more importantly, it needs to build defense and security capabilities to ensure its own security. This chapter emphasizes the importance of resilience preparedness from Taiwan’s example, focusing on three specific dimensions. First, it examines Taiwan’s existing high-tech resources, debating the “silicon shield” concept proposed by international think tanks and the author’s own “silicon dullness” proposition. Second, it reviews Taiwan’s efforts in ensuring security and defense. Third, it calls for strengthening international partnerships and cooperation to deepen security resilience.

Part of the book: Global Peace