The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) is a unique Stanford University institution focused on the interdisciplinary study of contemporary Asia. Shorenstein APARC’s mission is to:

• Produce and publish outstanding interdisciplinary, Asia-Pacific–focused research;
• Educate students, scholars, and corporate and governmental affiliates;
• Promote constructive interaction to influence U.S. policy toward the Asia-Pacific, and
  
• Guide Asian nations on key issues of societal transition, development, U.S.-Asia relations, and regional cooperation.

Research and Training

Shorenstein APARC’s research spans the worlds of scholarship, business, and government, and cuts across traditional academic disciplines to provide broad, deep perspective. The Center supports many ongoing projects, and also launches new studies every year to respond to its primary research goals. All projects are interdisciplinary and collaborative, involving faculty, students, and experts at Stanford, across the United States and around the globe. New projects currently under way consider topics ranging from nationalism in Asia and regionalism in Southeast Asia to the rise of high technology in Greater China, outsourcing to Southeast Asia, and globalization in Korea.

Training the next generation of scholars is an integral part of Shorenstein APARC’s research mission. The Center and its programs support predoctoral, postdoctoral, and research fellowships, and also offer opportunities for mid-career professionals to advance their knowledge. Several fellowships focus on Korean studies; others relate to East Asia’s political economy, and the role of Greater China in the global knowledge economy. These outstanding fellows and visiting scholars—and the research they conduct while in residence—greatly enrich the Center’s intellectual life.

Programs

Shorenstein APARC has developed several key programs—catering to both specialist and general audiences—to support its research, training, and outreach goals.

The Corporate Affiliates Visiting Fellows Program, established in 1982, introduces Asia-based fellows to American life and institutions. Association with the Center allows foreign visitors to interact daily with specialists, students, and scholars from Stanford and abroad. Visiting Fellows’ practical experience and international perspective inform the intellectual exchange at Shorenstein APARC and at Stanford.

The Center’s fast-growing Stanford Korean Studies Program (KSP), founded in 2001, focuses on multidisciplinary, collaborative research on policy-relevant, Korea-related topics, and supports teaching, research, and fellowships. The Southeast Asia Forum (SEAF) explores the histories, cultures, political economies, and international relations of Southeast Asia’s ten countries and half a billion people. The Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE) examines development conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley and other key global regions.

Outreach

Shorenstein APARC’s outreach activities are closely tied to its research agenda. Regular seminars, conferences, and lecture series promote vital discussion of the problems currently facing the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, the Asian Leaders' Forum, the Oksenberg Lecture, the Shorenstein Award and the Contemporary Asia Seminar Series convene “rising stars” from academia, business, and government. The Center’s research produces policy-relevant papers, briefs, and books, as well as an annual peer-reviewed journal. In partnership with the Brookings Institution Press, Shorenstein APARC publishes regular monographs on topical subjects. Through Stanford University Press, the Center publishes “Studies of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center,” which feature the varied work of Center faculty, researchers, and fellows. The editorial offices of the Journal of Korean Studies (JKS) are also housed at Shorenstein APARC; the Center publishes the JKS annually in collaboration with Rowman & Littlefield.