Contemplating Japanese and Korean Relations in Historical, Regional and International Relations Theoretical Contexts
Contemplating Japanese and Korean Relations in Historical, Regional and International Relations Theoretical Contexts

Summary/Abstract: This paper focuses on relations between Japan and the two Koreas, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Relations between Japan and the two Koreas can be simultaneously examined in three related contexts: the history of the national entities which is still subject to divergent interpretations, the post-Cold War East Asian security environment, and international relations (IR) theory, particularly the contrasts between neorealism, neoliberalism and neoclassical realism. In addition to traditional relations, the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910–1945) still serves as a relevant area of sensitivity between all three nations. The post-Cold War East Asian security environment is a complex mixture of vestiges of the Cold War and new regional paradigms and shifts of power, particularly against the backdrop of competing big-power interests converging on the region. Both the relations between these three nations and as well as the regional concerns of other state-actors have often been focused in recent years by North Korea’s developing nuclear weapons and missile technologies. Japanese-Korean relations present a contentious subject for IR scholars to debate the respective merits of various theoretical approaches. It is the opinion of the author that on balance, at least for the time being, neoclassical realism is a better lens through which to view these relations.

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