SOUTH KOREA‟S FOREIGN POLICY: THE HEDGING STRATEGY

Date

2023-8-13

Author

Kılıçarslan Gül, Ezgi

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The main purpose of this thesis is to analyze how South Korea as a middle power utilizes hedging strategy to pursue its regional and international interest vis-à-vis the United States and China. The concept of hedging gained the attention of International Relations (IR) scholars following the increasing effects of globalization since the beginning of 2000s. When the traditional approach to explain middle power behavior through the concepts of balancing and bandwagoning could not meet complex structure created by globalization, IR scholars developed a new concept; hedging. Elements of middle power diplomacy can be seen in South Korea‟s regional and international behavior as a middle power. Since hedging strategy has usually been used by the middle powers, it is important to show how South Korea has adapted the hedging strategy to protect its international and regional interests and its middle power status. Also, it is essential to examine the foreign policy objectives of South Korea to understand why it relies on hedging strategy. This thesis aims to analyze the hedging strategy of South Korean governments especially after 2007 because hedging strategy can be seen more clearly after South Korean President Lee Myung Bak inauguration speech in 2007. Following 2007, hedging strategy aimed to improve South Korea‟s relations with North Korea, to be aligned with South Korea‟s decision of being committed to its strategic alliance with the U.S. and its strategic partnership with China at the same time.

Subject Keywords

South Korea, hedging, middle power, United States, China

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/104857

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Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis