The Regional Programme Political Dialogue Asia of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung aims to contribute to the strengthening of regional integration, global governance and international dialogue among Asian countries as well as between Europe, Asia and Australasia. Our main activities are built on five pillars:
- Strengthening of political parties in the region/parliamentary dialogue
- Regional cooperation and integration
- Foreign and security policy/geopolitics
- Europe-Asia/Pacific cooperation, global governance
- Analysis of and publications on developments in Asia and Europe
1. Strengthening of political parties in the region/parliamentary dialogue
With the aim of strengthening political parties, we started the “Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians” (KASYP) as a regional project in Asia. KASYP is a two-year training programme for young members of political parties. KASYP seeks to groom young political leaders who will take the lead in advancing the responsiveness and accountability of political parties. The training programme is designed to enable participants to enhance their theoretical knowledge of political theories and concepts as well as their practical skills for political action and responsibilities, and, not least, professionalizing their respective political parties. With increased skills and competencies, KASYP participants shall make a difference within their political parties and ultimately in their respective countries. To find out more about KASYP, please visit the KASYP section of our webpage.
The KAS Regional office also organises parliamentary dialogue activities by way of the Asian Women Parliamentarian Caucus (AWPC). A network of Asian women parliamentarians have been meeting annually since 2011 to promote, strengthen and develop female political leadership in the region through policy discussions and capacity building workshops. The caucus aims to a) promote more robust engagements in policy issues by encouraging regional discussions on policies impacting women in Asia b) build capacities of individual parliamentarians through networking, plenary sessions and skills upgrading workshops c) identify leadership challenges faced by female parliamentarians in Asia and provide adequate support through leadership training and policy workshops.
In addition to these core activities, the regional programme also organises policy meetings among alumni members who have graduated from the KASYP programme and who remain politically active in their work. These dialogue programmes often involve government representatives, members of parliament and party officials.
2. Regional Cooperation and integration
In close cooperation with various partners, such as the ISEAS (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) - Yusof Ishak Institute, the Regional Programme organises numerous events to further regional integration within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). In addition, we support the Consortium of South East Asian Think Tanks (COSATT) in its efforts to promote regional cooperation and integration among the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), located in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our office also facilitates an established forum – the Asia Pacific Roundtable (APR) - for the informal exchange of ideas and opinions in the field of security policy among researchers and practitioners in the entire region.
3. Foreign and security policy & geopolitics
Through the NATO-Asia/Pacific Dialogue, which is held in Brussels and changing Asian countries in alternate years, our office supports the exchange on current security challenges – always involving NATO’s global partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
Furthermore the subject of ‘Terrorism as a Global Challenge’ is of crucial importance in the Asia-Pacific. Our strategic focus is therefore on exchange of information, prevention and de-radicalisation. In our workshops, presentations and publications we also analyse and address non-traditional security threats which have a lasting impact on Asian societies.
4. Europe-Asia / Pacific cooperation and global governance
The Regional Programme is making a great effort to foster dialogue among different stakeholders regarding trans-boundary issues, with a focus towards developing transnational solutions. These issues include new forms of diplomacy, the G20 and flight of refugees and migration. We invite representatives from esteemed academic institutions, parliamentarians and politicians from Asia as well as their European counterparts to exchange views through conferences.
Since 1998 our office has been implementing the annual ‘Asia-Europe Think Tank Dialogue’ in cooperation with the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies in the Philippines and the EU-Centre in Singapore. The Think Tank Dialogue provides representatives from all parts of Asia and Europe with the opportunity to exchange ideas and perspectives on contemporary topics linked to biregional and international relations. Moreover, the Think Tank Dialogue serves as a platform for ongoing projects and enhanced cooperation between institutions of both continents.
From January 2012 until March 2015, the Regional Programme have successfully implemented the ‘EU-Asia Dialogue’ project which aimed at fostering exchange and understanding between policymakers, non-governmental organisations and researchers from Asia and Europe. The three-year project dealt with seven topics that were of mutual significance for both regions. The ‘EU-Asia Dialogue’ project was co-funded by the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), where all activities were carried out by KAS and its partners. Please refer to our project summary or to the project’s website for further information and publications published from the discussions ensued in the project.
5. Analysis of and publications on developments in Asia and Europe
The Regional Programme also publishes various books, articles and analysis on topics of international relevance. Our bi-annual journal titled Panorama: Insights into Asian and European Affairs focusses on latest global trends in Asia and Europe. The journal has a wide distribution among policy makers, opinion leaders, academic institutions, social organizations and media in both continents. For further information please visit the Panorama section of our webpage or our publications section.
