The  Initiative

The East Asia Peace & Security Initiative (EAPASI) is a (501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan, non-advocacy group.  Our core mission is educating the public, policymakers, and journalists on the emerging battlegrounds in the cross-strait relationship, as well as how this long-standing, evolving dynamic impacts the changing regional architecture especially the security dimension.  Our primary focus is on the cross-strait relationship; but, at the same time, we analyze how this relationship shapes other regional issues involving the U.S. and China such as the East China Sea, the South China Sea, as well as the Korean Peninsula.  To date very few, if any, scholars, policymakers and journalists have yet to focus on the linkages between U.S.-China relations and the unresolved issue of Taiwan with other regional issues such as North Korea and the East and South China Seas.  Our primary focus is on the cross-strait relationship because the most likely situation to bring the two mature nuclear powers -- the U.S. and China -- into conflict and cause them to contemplate the threat or the use of nuclear weapons is the unresolved issue of Taiwan, while our secondary focus is how the aforementioned relationship can influence the U.S.-China dynamic in other areas in the region.  Our goal is to objectively analyze these issues in order to contribute policy analysis and commentary to inform the U.S. approach to regional affairs.

The EAPASI was conceived of by Drs. Monte R. Bullard and Judith Norton out of a concern for a potential crisis in the Taiwan Strait that could interfere with America's efforts to maintain stability and peace, and that could lead to the potential for nuclear war between the two major powers.  We aim to provide an objective platform for exchange, so we take no position on these issues.  To achieve this goal, we created a website to aggregate and disseminate reliable original source information from news sources, government agencies, and research institutions to a wide audience on the growing threat posed by the cross-strait relations dynamic and other regional issues. The website serves as a one-stop research center for scholars, journalists, and policymakers that provides accurate and reliable information on regional issues.  

To learn more about our mission, as well as how to support it, contact us here.​

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Who We Are

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Edward J. Barss is Senior Research Analyst with The Initiative, as well as Consulting Political Analyst and Researcher who has worked with the Canadian Department of National Defence researching Chinese attitudes towards nuclear deterrence, Sino-Soviet relations, as well as American decline. Previously, he worked for Global Business Reports as a journalist focusing on international business trends and as a Physical Security Analyst for the Bank of Nova Scotia where he prepared analysis of regional trends and incidents in over 30 countries.  In June 2018, Taiwan's government invited Mr. Barss to visit Taiwan as a member of the Canadian Young Leaders Delegation. Recently, Taiwan's MOFA awarded Mr. Barss a 2019 Taiwan Fellowship that will enable him to conduct research on cross-strait relations at the National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei.

Mr. Barss holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, with a minor in Asian Language and Culture.  Barss has written on topics such as Sino‐Russian relations, Japanese‐Chinese territorial disputes, and China’s strategic resource policy. (CV)

Colonel (Ret.) Monte R. Bullard (PhD Berkeley) is a China hand who possesses 16 years of experience in Asia with the U.S. Army, including 5 years as a diplomat.  Dr. Bullard has an additional 9 years of academic training in Asian Studies (BA, MA, and PhD), as well as many years of experience teaching about Asia at West Point and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS).   He has been studying the China–Taiwan issue from an academic and operational perspective for over 40 years.  He has published articles in many journals and newspapers and has written books, including the e-book titled "Strait Talk: An In-depth Analysis of China-Taiwan-U.S. Relations".

Sally Duff is a computer programmer who coded the book Strait Talk into the e-book, as well as the pre-1911 to 2017 entries for the Chronology. ​​

Judith Norton (PhD Georgia) has 9 years of academic training in Asian Studies and about 10 years of work experience in China and Taiwan.  In China, Dr. Norton worked in various sectors including business and education.  In the U.S., Dr. Norton  worked as a consultant on issues at the nexus of international trade and security.  

A former Rotary World Peace Fellow, Judith earned a MA degree in Conflict Resolution.  She was a Minerva Initiative Scholar (China Innovation program) and a Public Policy and Nuclear Threats Scholar at IGCC UC San Diego.  She received the Taiwan Fellowship to conduct research on U.S.-China-Taiwan relations.  As a Fellow, she traveled around Taiwan giving lectures and wrote a forthcoming e-book titled  'One China, Five Interpretations'.  Dr. Norton has advanced training in Mandarin Chinese (Middlebury College SILP). She publishes articles on US, China, Taiwan relations in various media outlets.

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Contributors

Professor Yan Xuetong is serving as the Director of The Institute of International Studies, Tsinghua University and the chief editor of The Chinese Journal of International Politics . He is also a vice chairman of China Association of International Relations Studies, a vice chairman of China Association of American Studies, and a board member of the following organizations, China Diplomacy Association, China Association of Peaceful Unification, China Association of UN Studies, China Association of Arms Control and Disarmment, China Association of International Relations Studies, China-US Friendship Association, China Association of Asia-Pacific Studies. He is an adjunct professor of the National Defense University and a senior research fellow of National Security Committee. He is also an academic advisor to The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Journal of Chinese Political Science, World Economics and Politics, Contemporary World, Chinese Journal of European Studies , Southeast Asia Studies, Journal of Strategy and Decision-Making.  He is the author of "An Analysis of China's National Interests"

Chelsea Chia-Chen Chou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of the Graduate Institution of National Development at the National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei.  Her research is motivated by an interest in the political economy of policy reform in authoritarian regimes, with a focus on social policy reform in China. Dr. Chou received her Ph.D. in the Department of Government at Cornell University in August 2011. Her broader research interests include the Political Economy of Policy Reform, Comparative Authoritarianism, Social Policies, International Relations, and Chinese Politics.

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