Karl Gustafsson is professor of international relations at Stockholm University and visiting researcher at Tokyo University, Osaka University and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. His research interests include ontological security, collective memory and narratives in International Relations, focusing in particular on East Asia. Karl serves as a member of the editorial boards of the Review of International Studies and the Central European Journal of International and Security Studies, and his publications have appeared in numerous journals such as International Studies Quarterly, Contemporary Security Policy, European Journal of International Relations and The Pacific Review.

This year's CRIPS annual lecture, in collaboration with the EASG, has invited Professor Gustafsson to talk on his work that explores the political dimensions of captivity and kidnappings, collectively known as 'captivity politics'. This talk is focused specifically on exploring the various ways in which captivity is related to deterrence, with an empirical focus on East Asia. Departing from traditional applications of deterrence theory confined to the military domain, this discussion builds on recent scholarship aiming to broaden its scope. We examine various examples, from the centrality of captivity in Tokugawa Japan's sankin kotai system, the deterrence function of the practice of holding civil society actors captives in authoritarian states, as well as how the experiences of researchers being held captive on dubious grounds may deter academics from conducting fieldwork in certain states. Join this talk for an exploration of the ways in which deterrence intertwines with captivity politics in East Asia.