LISTEN: Soft Power, Deterrence, and South Korea’s National Security

Soft Power, Deterrence, and South Korea’s National Security

With Attawat Assavanadda
In conversation with Susan A. Thornton
November 2024

Susan Thornton, Director of the NCAFP’s program on Asia-Pacific security, sits down with PhD scholar Attawat Assavannadda to discuss his research on the role that soft power plays on South Korean national security.

Read more about our Next-Generation Korean Peninsula Specialists Program here.

Attawat Joseph Ma ASSAVANADDA is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong and Young Leader at Pacific Forum (a Honolulu-based think tank). He researches International Relations and Security of East Asia, with particular interests in the roles of soft power and public diplomacy in regional peace and security. His ongoing PhD project scrutinizes Thai people’s receptions of China’s public diplomacy using a mixture of field research, survey experiments, and in-depth interview methods. Prior to doctoral training, he obtained a Master of Arts in International Relations (International Security specialization) from Waseda University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Chulalongkorn University. Professionally, he previously worked as a political analyst at Government House of Thailand, a research assistant at Chulalongkorn University’s Institute of Asian Studies and Thammasat University’s German-Southeast Asian Centre of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), and a research intern at the University of New South Wales.