Why South Korea is a Middle Power using the English School approach otherwise known as Liberal Realism Liberal

realism, commonly referred to as neo-realist/neo-liberal position, as posited by Hedley Bull in his seminal work, The Anarchical Society, contends that anarchy exists in the current system of states to which there is no higher level of authority over states, with each state having ultimate sovereignty over its citizens within its borders. Further, Bull affirms that this system of states forms a society where they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, thus providing order in the global and regional political environments. Given these conditions and the characteristics of MPs as discussed in class, the Republic of Korea (referred to as ROK hereafter) can be considered a Middle Power. ROK, as a middle power in global affairs and as a regional power in Northeast Asia, has continually demonstrated good international citizenship and coalition building while holding out its position in the anarchical nature of the regional geo-political environment it is situated in (ROK is bounded by China, Japan and Russia based on its geo-political location, plus North Korea and the US joining the fray). ROK, an erstwhile recipient of foreign aid and investment in the 1960s-70s, is currently one of the leading providers of aid in Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. This position says a lot about ROKs status of good international citizenship. Furthermore, the country also provides humanitarian aid to North Korea (DPRK) despite the recent skirmishes in 2010 involving DPRKs alleged sinking of ROKs naval vessel, Cheonan, and DPRKs artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island. To demonstrate the neo-realist/neo-liberal approach, ROK retaliated by severing trade transactions with DPRK (diplomatic and economic sanctions) but still continued provisions for humanitarian aid to DPRK. In the past decade, ROK has also increased its role within the international security loci, as evidenced by its involvement in Iraq in 2004 with the deployment of 3,600 troops to help in the countrys re-building process; ROK has also stepped up its peacekeeping efforts in Afghanistan. The countrys on-going participation in the Six-Party Talks (with China, Japan, Russia and US) in NE Asia with the end-goal of persuading DPRK to de-nuclearize and abandon its nuclear weaponry accumulation is also evidence of ROKs tendency to seek 1

multicultural solutions to international problems, to seek compromise in international disputes... (Cooper 1993,19). Seouls hosting of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit also demonstrates ROKs openness and willingness to pursue peace within the Korean peninsula while asserting its international role as a coalition builder in the global security arena. ROKs current foreign policy agenda under President Lee Myung Bak is shown in the figure below. With this framework, President Lee aims to put ROK in the global political map (following in the footsteps of MPs such as Australia and Canada). And if one is to analyze ROKs foreign policy blueprint, it combines the basic premises of a neo-realist/neo-liberal approach.

In conclusion, ROKs foreign policy-makers have acknowledged that the key to survival in an anarchical global society is to foster global cooperation among like-minded states (G20) and institutions (APEC, ASEAN plus 3) and continue its resource diplomacy agenda while remaining on full alert with regard to its security and the existing volatile relationship with DPRK, with the unwavering support of major power US. In this situation, ROK may be considered as a Middle Power in the global context, with a putative role of a rising major player in the Northeast Asian region.

References Bull, Hedley. 1977. The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics, 2nd Edition. New York: Columbia University Press. Choi, Young Jong. 2008. Excerpt from the Transcript of the Seminar-Discussion on South Koreas Middle Power Diplomacy and Regional Security Cooperation. Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. Washington, DC: October 2. Accessed on March 12, 2012. http://www.spfusa.org/program/avs/2008/2008_south_korea_power.htm Cooper, Andrew F., Higgott, Richard A., Nossal, Kim Richards (eds). 1993. Relocating Middle Powers: Australia and Canada in a Changing World Order. Vancouver: UBC Press. Shim, David. 2009. A Shrimp amongst Whales? Assessing South Koreas Regional-power Status. German Institute of Global and Area Studies Working Papers no 107 (August). http://www.giga-hamburg.de/workingpapers Ungerer, Carl and Simon Smith. 2010. Australia and South Korea: Middle Power Cooperation and Asian Security. Strategic Insights (October). ACT, Australia: Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Maria Charmaine D. Guevara Candidate for Master in Development Policy Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management 85 Hoegiro Dongdaemun-gu 130-868 Seoul, Republic of Korea 12 March 2012 END