Security Relations Between the DPRK and South Korea after the End of the Cold War: Reciprocity or Bullying?
Security Relations Between the DPRK and South Korea after the End of the Cold War: Reciprocity or Bullying?

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to ask the question whether the relations between North Korea and South Korea follow the premises of stimulus-response theory and thus are driven by reciprocity, or whether bullying strategy suits better to explain the relations between two Korean states. The presented data shows that reciprocating strategy was prevailing pattern of relations between Seoul and Pyongyang since the end of 1980s till 2013, thus supporting the empirical relevance of the stimulus-response theory. The existence of reciprocity-based strategies in inter-Korean relations has been revealed, both in their confrontational and cooperational formulation, whilst higher reciprocity was found in cooperative relations. Noteworthy, North Korean cooperative actions were of a milder character than South Korean ones, whilst South Korea did not respond by such strong confrontational actions, as were sent to it from the North. The results of the research are not significant only for theoretical level, but also for the policy-recommendation. The implication for practical politics is that states intending to increase the level of cooperation with North Korea should adopt the reciprocating strategy in its cooperative form. This approach must be adopted in the long-term perspective, as North Korea is sensitive to incoming impulses and is ready to switch from cooperation to confrontation right away.

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