South Korea's grand strategy: making its own destiny
In: Contemporary Asia in the world
"Since its transition to democracy and the end of the Cold War, a grand strategy has emerged in South Korea regarding how to use the country's resources to achieve four key long-term goals: protection from external military threats, inter-Korean reconciliation and unification, deeper integration in the world economy, and recognition as an influential middle power. In this book, Ramon Pacheco Pardo explores how South Korea has sought to use its military, diplomatic, and economic capabilities to achieve these goals. The key forces driving this grand strategy, he explains, are economic development, democratization, self-identity as a middle power, the alliance with the United States, the rise of China, the Asian Financial Crisis, and regional integration and globalization. Through content analysis of key documents and speeches as well as semi-structured interviews with past and present South Korean policy makers, diplomats, and analysts, Pacheco Pardo presents a clear, analytical account of the contemporary foreign policy strategy within South Korea today and its origins"--