Economic Nationalism in South Korea and Taiwan: Examining Identity Discourse and Threat Perceptions towards Japan after the Second World War (1960s–1970s)

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-171
Author(s):  
Christina Lai
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Cold War ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Economic Nationalism ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
Threat Perceptions ◽  
Cold War Era

South Korea and Taiwan provide fruitful comparisons in political economy. During the Cold War era, they deepened their trade with Japan. However, the top political leaders in those places exhibited different levels of threat perceptions towards Japan. Why did the leaders formulate their discourse towards Japan so differently in the post-Cold War era? The role of nationalism is salient during their economic take-off periods. The motivations behind these developmental strategies and the discourse used to justify such national growth cannot be excluded from the studies of comparative politics and political economy. This article examines the political discourses of two dictators—Park Chung-hee in South Korea and Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan—and shows how they justified their policies towards Japan while establishing economic nationalism at the same time. It concludes with findings that are relevant to recent development in comparative studies, and it offers policy implications for East Asian security.

Road to Normalization between South Korea and Vietnam: Factors and Policy-making Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-180
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Middle Power ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Cold War Era ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The Vietnam War

Bilateral relations between South Korea and Vietnam have remarkably improved in the past 25 years, since the normalization of relations in 1992. They have been acknowledged positively as the result of a successful process of the diplomatic ties. Meanwhile, it is plausible that conflicting issues were raised while establishing diplomatic ties because the two countries were hostile during the Vietnam War. This research explores the process of normalization, which coincided with their mutual economic and geopolitical interests in international relations in the decline of socialism and the post-Cold War era. As Vietnam urgently needed to establish cooperative relations with capitalist countries, this served as a concession in overcoming the historical legacy of the Vietnam War. The process of diplomatic negotiations between South Korea and Vietnam shows that the foreign policies of small- and middle-power countries are determined not only in cooperation with their allies but also with some degree of relative autonomy in the post-Cold War era. Received 9th December 2019; Revised 2nd March 2020; Accepted 20th March 2020

American Ways of War since 1945

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-50
Author(s):  
Ingo Trauschweizer
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
National Security ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Threat Perceptions ◽  
The World ◽  
Cold War Era ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
Historical Trajectory ◽  
The U.S

This essay considers the literature about an American way of war. It pays particular attention to the U.S. in the world since 1945, but also situates contemporary American warfare in its longer historical trajectory. It addresses the early Cold War era, the Vietnam War era, and the post-Cold War era as distinct periods in which different threats, or threat perceptions, shaped American strategy; yet it also shows underlying continuities in the national security ideology, heavy emphasis on technological solutions, and the search for proper operational approaches and doctrine.

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