Scott Kastner, a leading China-Taiwan scholar, will speak Tuesday at the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ about the strained relationship between the two governments.

Kastner will give a presentation entitled β€œBetween Conflict and Peace: Contemporary Relations Across the Taiwan Strait” at 9 a.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union. The topic is of particular timeliness in light of Taiwan’s closely contested presidential election Jan. 14.

The free event, organized by the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Global Perspectives Office, in cooperation with ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ LIFE, is part of the 2011-2012 themes of β€œPeople Power, Politics and Global Change.”

Kastner is the author of β€œPolitical Conflict and Economic Interdependence across the Taiwan Strait and Beyond.” He is an associate professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, where he teaches courses on the international politics of East Asia, U.S.-China-Taiwan relations, and international relations theory and East Asia.

Previously, Kastner served as the China Security Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, and as a visiting research fellow in the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at Princeton University.

Kastner has written numerous peer-reviewed journal articles on China-Taiwan Cross-Strait relations in publications such as International Security, Security Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Journal of East Asian Studies.

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office and ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ LIFE, sponsors and partners include the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ China-Taiwan Cross-Strait Program, C.T. Hsu and Associates, the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Political Science Department, The Chinese American Scholars & Professionals Association of Florida and the Global Connections Foundation.