The Online Colloquium of the Summer Term 2024 by the Research Training Group GRK 2833 “East Asian Futures” will host a lecture by Prof. Dr. Karl GUSTAFSSON. You are cordially invited to attend.

Prof. Dr. Karl GUSTAFSSON (Stockholm University)
Non-traditional deterrence in East Asia
Friday, July 5, 2024, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Central European Time)

Abstract
This talk is concerned with what I call non-traditional deterrence. Broadly understood, deterrence means preventing someone from action out of fear of consequences. Deterrence has long occupied a central role in International Relations (IR). Traditionally, it has been used primarily within the context of hard military power in inter-state relations, focusing on how nuclear and conventional military capabilities dissuade other states from launching a military attack. In the last couple of decades, the concept has increasingly been applied both to non-state actors and to new issue areas ranging from terrorism to cyber and hybrid warfare.
Since it is aimed at dissuading someone from future action, deterrence is by definition related to the future. The non-traditional deterrence research agenda looks for deterrence in areas of politics where previous research has not looked for it. In this talk, I describe my on-going research within this area. First, I discuss a recently published co-authored journal article, in which we developed the concept of memory-political deterrence. Memory-political deterrence refers to the ways in which states seek to dissuade other political actors from taking actions that threaten the collective memory narratives underpinning the ontological security of the deterring actor. Second, I describe my research on captivity and deterrence. Third, I outline how I have begun to conceptualize a link between deterrence and democratic backsliding and autocratization. This research suggests that efforts to deter for example civil society and the media from what particular actors consider critical activities and reporting is an important aspect of democratic backsliding and autocratization that has not been sufficiently highlighted in previous research. In all three areas of non-traditional deterrence research, I provide empirical examples related to East Asia.

About the speaker
Prof. Dr. Karl Gustafsson is a highly regarded scholar in the field of international relations, currently serving as a professor at Stockholm University. His research spans critical areas such as security, power, and the role of collective memory in international relations, with a keen interest in research design and the innovative use of internet-generated material for IR research. He has held significant positions at Lund University and at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. His academic journey has also taken him to esteemed institutions worldwide, such as Tokyo University, Osaka University, Keio University, Academia Sinica in Taipei, and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies in Copenhagen. Prof. Gustafsson’s extensive publication record includes peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals like International Studies Quarterly, Contemporary Security Policy, and the European Journal of International Relations, among many others.

Organizer
Research Training Group 2833 “East Asian Futures: Visions and Realizations on National, Transregional and Global Scales”, Ruhr University Bochum and University of Duisburg-Essen.

Zoom meeting link
https://ruhr-uni-bochum.zoom-x.de/j/62767847320?pwd=U8Bt3557T2xOSMTXPCu7Fempy8B1Hq.1