In recent years, systemic risks and crises have frequently arisen across spheres such as the international political and economic order, tariff conflicts, climate change, and broader geopolitical tensions. Accelerating power shifts within the international system have brought about dramatic transformations in global order and institutions, intensifying future uncertainty. These developments pose severe challenges to the liberal international order and its institutional resilience. At the same time, East Asia faces irreversible trends of population ageing and declining birth rates, placing industries, technology, and societies under intense pressure, thereby affecting the functioning of nation-states and even threatening democratic and liberal systems.

This Symposium adopts a comparative perspective on globalisation and East Asian societies, and seeks to build on an evidence-based governance approach to envision resilient societies—capable of preserving the existing order under external shocks without collapse, adapting rapidly to new situations, and transforming institutions when necessary. The goal is to respond to East Asia’s societal transformation in an era of dramatic change, with an emphasis on feasible models for sustainable policy design and decision-making systems. By doing so, the symposium aims to strengthen the resilience of governments and societies, foster intergovernmental and cross-sector collaborative governance, and expand the influence of East Asia’s engagement with both the international academic community and civil society.