This volume discusses Korea’s role as a middle power in the midst of the 21st century global power shift. Focusing on Korea’s middle power diplomacy from the perspective of coalition building, the book discusses structural factors that shape middle power strategy and diplomacy. Written by leading Korean researchers, the chapters use diverse methodologies to offer a range of perspectives on Korea’s place in the developing global order. Topics discussed include South Korea’s approach to technology policy in the midst of US-China cyber competition, the East Asian ‘Thucydides Trap’, MITKA and middle power diplomacy, Korea’s role in the South China Sea dispute, and South Korean cyber security. Providing a unique treatment of middle power opportunities and motivations in the East Asia region, this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, Asian politics, diplomacy, security studies, and global governance.

This book examines theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of middle powers with reference to South Korea’s bilateral relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iraq. It maps the development, political and diplomatic trajectories between South Korea and Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iraq against the historical backdrop of ROK-US alliance and the rise of China. Jeong provides a nuanced analysis of the intersectionality of political economy and foreign policy analysis contextualizing state-building processes in ROK and the Middle Eastern countries. This accessible book is intended for students and scholars in area studies and international affairs, career diplomats, and South Korean businesses in the Middle East. It should also prove of practical value for journalists and policy makers who are interested in studying the nexus of domestic, regional and international factors that have configured South Korea’s Middle East policy.

This book examines South Korea’s recent strategic turn to middle power diplomacy, evaluating its performance so far in key areas of security, maritime governance, trade, finance, development assistance, climate change, and cyber space. In particular, the authors pay special attention to how South Korea’s middle power diplomacy can contribute to making the U.S.-China competition in East Asia benefit Korea. The contributors discuss the opportunities and limits of this middle power diplomacy role, exploring how Korea can serve as a middleman in Sino-Japanese relations, rather than as a US ally against China; use its rich trade networks to negotiate beneficial free trade agreements; and embracing its role as a leader in climate change policy, along with other topics. This book is a must read for foreign policy officials and experts who engage in the Asia-Pacific region, rekindling the academic study of middle powers whose influence is only augmenting in our increasingly networked twenty-first century world.

This volume discusses Korea's role as a middle power in the midst of the 21st century global power shift. Focusing on Korea's middle power diplomacy from the perspective of coalition building, the book discusses structural factors that shape middle power strategy and diplomacy. Written by leading Korean researchers, the chapters use diverse methodologies to offer a range of perspectives on Korea's place in the developing global order. Topics discussed include South Korea's approach to technology policy in the midst of US-China cyber competition, the East Asian 'Thucydides Trap', MITKA and middle power diplomacy, Korea's role in the South China Sea dispute, and South Korean cyber security. Providing a unique treatment of middle power opportunities and motivations in the East Asia region, this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, Asian politics, diplomacy, security studies, and global governance.

The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary South Korea offers a ground-breaking study of the socio-political development of the Korean peninsula in the contemporary period. Written by an international team of scholars and experts, contributions to this book address key intellectual questions in the development of Korean studies, projecting new ways of thinking about how international systems can be organised and how local societies adapt to global challenges. Academically rigorous, each chapter defines current research and lends the reader greater understanding of the social, cultural, economic, and political developments of South Korea, ranging from chapters on the Korean Wave to relations with North Korea and the Korean language overseas. The volume is divided into eight sections, each representing a focused area of inquiry: socio-political history contemporary politics political economy and development society culture international relations security and diplomacy South Korea in international education This handbook provides an interdisciplinary and comprehensive account of contemporary South Korea. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of Korean history, politics and international relations, culture and society, and will also appeal to policy makers interested in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.

This book examines theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of middle powers with reference to South Korea's bilateral relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iraq. It maps the development, political and diplomatic trajectories between South Korea and Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iraq against the historical backdrop of ROK-US alliance and the rise of China. Jeong provides a nuanced analysis of the intersectionality of political economy and foreign policy analysis contextualizing state-building processes in ROK and the Middle Eastern countries. This accessible book is intended for students and scholars in area studies and international affairs, career diplomats, and South Korean businesses in the Middle East. It should also prove of practical value for journalists and policy makers who are interested in studying the nexus of domestic, regional and international factors that have configured South Korea's Middle East policy.

This paper attempts to unpick the analytical problems and practical challenges underlying South Korea’s middle-power diplomacy. Understanding why the administrations of presidents Roh Moohyun (2003–08), Lee Myung-bak (2008–13) and Park Geun-hye (since 2013) have defined middle power in markedly different ways is not only necessary for an informed view of recent South Korean geopolitical strategy, but can also improve future policy communication and implementation. This paper analyses the variations in middle-power thinking that have informed policy narratives under Roh, Lee and Park, and examines the conceptual foundations of their respective discourses. It further sets out how each government has understood and operationalized the concept of middle power, and what the policy implications have been.