Asan in the News

2013SEP02

Jang Ji-Hyang [Arirang TV] “August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria”

  • Issue/Region :
    /Middle East
  • Expert :
    Jang Ji-Hyang / Center for Regional Studies

[Arirang TV]  2013-09-03

On Tuesday, September 3, Dr. Jang Ji-Hyang, Director of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Center at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, was a guest speaker on Arirang TV’s Early Edition at 18:00 and Prime Time News programs to discuss the fallout from the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria and the possibility of US military intervention.

To view the interview, please visit:

Interview: How Far Will the World Go with Syria?

Some of the questions that the interview covered included:

President Obama announced that he will seek congressional approval for military attacks against Syria. What would happen if he is not able to overcome a skeptical Congress and public?

China and Russia are objecting to any international action against the Syrian government. France sided with the U.S. today. How important is it to get China and Russia’s blessing?

But in many ways the U.S. can’t go back on its pledge to police the non-use of any chemical weapons. How important is it for the U.S. to uphold the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention which is essentially a gentleman’s agreement not to use bio-chemical weapons in war?

How will a potential attack impact the wider Middle East? Would Assad retaliate and where?

Could there have been any other alternatives to a military strike against Syria?

About Experts

Jang Ji-Hyang
Jang Ji-Hyang

Center for Regional Studies

Dr. JANG Ji-Hyang is a Principal Fellow and director of the Center for Regional Studies at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Dr. Jang served as a policy advisor on Middle East issues to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2012-2018). Previously, Dr. Jang taught comparative and Middle East politics at Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Ewha Woman’s University, and the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Her research interests include political economy of the Middle East and North Africa, political Islam, comparative democratization, terrorism, and state-building. Dr. Jang is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Essential Guide to the Middle East (Sigongsa 2023 in Korean), The Arab Spring: Will It Lead to Democratic Transitions?(with Clement M. Henry (eds.), Palgrave Macmillan 2013), “Disaggregated ISIS and the New Normal of Terrorism” (Asan Issue Brief 2016), “Islamic Fundamentalism” (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 2008) and a Korean translation of Fawaz Gerges’ Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy (Asan Institute 2011). Dr. Jang received a B.A. in Turkish studies and M.A. in political science from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Texas at Austin.

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