Wonk stuff on history, nationalism and East Asian peace

by Robert Koehler on March 31, 2007

I can’t seem to connect with the site, but apparently there is some pretty wonky stuff by Dr. Dr. Sheila Miyoshi Jager on the politics of identity, history, nationalism and the prospects for peace in post-Cold War East Asia at the Army War College. [HT to reader]

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

1 MrChips March 31, 2007 at 1:13 pm: What’s the definition of “pretty wonky” here? I read the piece and while I didn’t agree with most of the conclusions she made concerning how to approach Pyongyang, none of what she wrote was particularly new or provocative.

On both issues, Taiwan and North Korea, she clearly advocates gaining a better understanding of current trends in historical revision throughout East Asia. On that note I would certainly agree with her. As well, while she, in error I believe, thinks the US should approach North Korea bilaterlly, she doesn’t cozy up to any one side and makes some salient observations about how misperceptions of other people’s culture and history can create problems. Again, nothing outragous or controversial about that.

All in all I thought it was an average SSI pub that: 1. emphasizes the need for more caution on the US’ part concerning historical revision, which would be good and 2. advocates adopting a different approach toward North Korea which would be bad. Wonky? no, just a little off.
2 Corpy Carly March 31, 2007 at 1:33 pm: wonk
–noun Slang.
1. a student who spends much time studying and has little or no social life; grind.
2. a stupid, boring, or unattractive person.
3. a person who studies a subject or issue in an excessively assiduous and thorough manner: a policy wonk.

I think he was going for something like #3
3 MrChips March 31, 2007 at 9:19 pm: Much Grass!!

See there, you learn something new every day. Couldn’t find anything in my ’49 edition of websters new international dictionary and assumed wonky to be some kind of alliteral cousin to wacky. However, relative to #3 I’d say that is spot on. So, wonky and a little off.

BTW Corpy Carly, where did u get those definitions? an online slang dictionary?
4 chiamattt March 31, 2007 at 10:11 pm: try dictionary.com MrChips
5 Corpy Carly April 1, 2007 at 6:33 am: yeah, dictionary.com – good resource
6 Richardson April 1, 2007 at 9:47 am: Many .mil / .gov sites block ranges of IPs from Korea (and China, etc.).

You should be able to access the page with this proxy: atunnel.com
7 Arghaeri April 1, 2007 at 11:01 am: Maybe in American slang, but British slang wonky – is descriptive not a noun, along the lines of, screwed up, doesn’t work properly. e.g. When the picture goes fuzzy on the TV, “Bugger, the TV’s gone wonky again”.