Synergy Journal Print Publication 2016
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Dear Readers,
It is with honour that I present you with the first volume of Synergy: The Journal of
Contemporary Asian Studies in print edition. Over the past year, over 20 of University of
Toronto’s best undergraduate and graduate students in contemporary Asian research and
studies have committed themselves to the editorial production of this precious volume and the
creation of exceptional scholarly works online available through Synergy’s website. I would like
to take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate and thank all editors, staffs, and advisory
board members for being committed and supportive of the strenuous but rewarding editorial
process, making this undergraduate based research volume a pilot success at the University
of Toronto.
Synergy: The Journal of Contemporary Asian Studies was founded in the summer of
2015 with the generous support of the Asian Institute at the University of Toronto. Its vision
was to stimulate and generate vibrant academic discussions on the current political, historical,
societal, and/or economic developments in the Asia region. Since its inception, the journal has
grown into a multi-disciplinary academic forum that has attracted worldwide institutional
recognition and attention. Our growing article base and quality editorial production have
attracted top undergraduate and graduate level authors from institutions such as Harvard
University (US), Stanford University (US), and Jawaharlal Nehru University (India).
The journal has striven to publish academic submissions and editorial contents online
on a monthly basis, consistently contributing to our growing online database of scholarly
articles. Additionally, the journal engaged in hosting several prominent academic events and
conferences during the year, including “One Belt One Road: A New Era of China’s Geopolitical
Strategies,” “Road to Recovery: China, India, and Pakistan’s Role in Afghanistan’s Post-NATO
Era,” aptly supporting these in addition to numerous other events organized by the Asian
Institute. In addition, the journal saw a consistent and stable expansion of editorial staff from 5
to 30 over the course of 11 months, and the establishment of a faculty based advisory board
consisting of top scholarly experts in the field of contemporary Asian developments at the
University of Toronto. Furthermore, Synergy Journal has now been listed with the Library and
Archives Canada and has exclusive ISSNs (International Standard Serial Number) to identify
both print and online publication.
This particular print volume that you are about to read strives to continue and exhibit the
journal’s founding vision of stimulating and generating vibrant academic discussions on the
current political, historical, societal, and economic developments within Contemporary Asia.
Over the various pages you are about to read, you will find carefully researched content on
themes such as current cyber security, diplomatic and economic relations, cross continent
geopolitical changes, and military security issues within East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South
Asian region. The style of content has been divided between original research based articles
and internal editorial based academic event coverage of events hosted by the journal or the
Asian Institute. The authors published in this volume is a mix of both graduate level and
undergraduate level students from various top institutions around the world, with content from
the University of Toronto, the journal’s founding institution, at a greater focus. The volume
exhibits only the best articles accepted by Synergy for publication during the 2015 to 2016
academic season.
As the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Synergy Journal, I sincerely hope that our readers
like you would enjoy the pages below and appreciate our collective efforts in gathering
contemporary Asian research at the undergraduate level as focus. If you have any questions
regarding the print volume publication or other matters affiliated with the Synergy Journal’s
editorial and/or operation in general, please do not hesitate to contact us at
inquiries@utsynergyjournal.org. We appreciate inquiries and submissions at anytime, in
addition you can sign-up for newsletter at anytime on our website at http://utsynergyjournal.org.
Yours Sincerely,
Susan Cui
Editor-in-Chief 2015-2016
Synergy: The Journal of Contemporary Asian Studies
