Publisher's Note (January 2018)

Twelve years ago, the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) established Asia Policy as a new initiative to “bridge the gap” between academic research and policymaking. Since then, in print and online, the journal has offered policy-relevant content on the Asia-Pacific and U.S.-Asia relations in a variety of formats, including articles, policy essays, roundtables, and book reviews.

This first issue of 2018 marks an exciting transition for the journal: a shift from biannual to quarterly publication. Beginning this year, Asia Policy will be published in January, April, July, and October. The numbering of the journal is also changing to reflect this new publication schedule. The volume number, 13 in this case, represents the number of years we have been in publication, and the issue number corresponds to the quarter of the year. It is our hope that increasing the frequency of publication will allow us to be more responsive to the journal’s audience as well as to important developments in Asia.

Peer review remains now, as then, an important component of vetting article and essay submissions to the journal, ensuring they are judged solely on their scholarly merits and promote the highest-caliber research. Other content in each issue is organized by the journal’s editorial team—special essays are invited contributions and roundtables consist of collections of essays offering an array of arguments on a topic from different perspectives and academic backgrounds.

Over the years the journal has grown in reach and impact. Asia Policy has joined a number of electronic distribution platforms to improve access in libraries and institutions, including Project MUSE, Ebsco, ProQuest, and most recently JSTOR. In 2014, NBR began building a consortium of like-minded policy research institutions from countries in the Asia-Pacific to help support the journal and expand its audience in the region. The Asia Policy Consortium currently includes the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University (ANU), and the Center for Energy Governance and Security (EGS) at Hanyang University in South Korea. These partners play a valuable role in the journal’s development by contributing to roundtable content and promoting Asia Policy in their respective countries.

It has been my privilege to have led the founding of the journal and to have remained involved in its development for the past twelve years. Just as it began, Asia Policy remains an important, exciting, and ambitious project to serve as a venue for exchanges between the academic and the policymaking communities. With this shift to quarterly publication, we look forward to facilitating even more research and analysis on the most important region in the world—the Asia-Pacific.

Richard J. Ellings
President
The National Bureau of Asian Research