Suchergebnisse

The article gives a tentative analysis of factors impacting the domestic and foreign policy of the Republic of Korea amid the growing confrontation between the "global West" spearheaded by the U.S. and the "global East" led by Russia and China. While the conflict between Washington and Beijing is being escalated, the South Korean leadership is likely to find itself in a precarious situation where it has to make a choice between its main economic partner and theideological overlord in terms of value orientation and security . Understanding the upcoming political course of Seoul, especially in light of the conflict over Taiwan, is of great scientific value and is important for applied international relations studies. Based on the analysis of the main trends of global turbulence and regional security, the authors propose a scenario prognosis developed on the basis of situational analysis and author's modeling techniques , which would include both the general trends of the country's foreign policy and the level of potential involvement of South Korea into a probable conflict between the U.S. and China in the Taiwan Strait. It is also worth noting that the most evident outcome will be the preserved alliance with Washington which is closer to South Korea when it comes to its social and political values and a gradual deterioration in relations with China, the speed of which may vary. However, the authors conclude by saying that Seoul will go to great lengths to postpone this uneasy choice and will try to distance itself from direct participation in a military conflict.

The discourse of "strategic autonomy," which has gained popularity in the Republic of Korea in recent years, has yet to undergo serious theoretical revision. This article attempts to fill the gap by examining the South Korean discourse of "middle powers," from which the discourse of "strategic autonomy" grew, and the socio-historical analysis of Korean perceptions of political subjectivity, which developed under the powerful influence of both Western ideas from the early 20th century and the political realities of the military alliance with the United States. In the first section the authors examine the specifics of South Korea's use of the concept of "strategic autonomy" in relation to its foreign policy strategy. This concept is examined using a constructivist paradigm. In the second section, the authors examine the discourse of "middle power," around which the concept of "strategic autonomy" is built. Compared to the former, this concept is quite elaborated in Western and Korean political discourses. Finally, the third section of the article examines the evolution of these concepts in South Korean discourse. The circumstances of the formation and development of the military-political alliance with the United States play an extremely important role in this evolution, and the discourse around its prospects largely determines the features of the country's domestic policy. The authors conclude that from the academic point of view the concept of "strategic autonomy" can only be considered as a discursive category close to the concept of "hedging," but it is an important element of South Korea's political identity and an essential factor of internal political struggle.

April 16, 2020 marked the 6th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster. The tragic event roused South Korean civilians and gave rise to numerous rumors and propaganda myths, which formed the basis for the so-called "candle revolution". They included both a conspiracy theory about the disaster, and the thesis that the main cause of the death of children was the criminal inaction of the corrupted Park Geun-hye administration and the ex-President herself. The examination of the remains of the ferry raised in 2017 after the impeachment of Park drew a thick line under the conspiracy theories (explosion on board, collision with a US submarine, etc.). Nevertheless, the question "what went wrong?" remains unanswered despite politically committed investigations. Meanwhile, most of the rumors circulating after the tragedy that brought people to the streets were never proven. Moreover, Park Geun-hye was acquitted by the Court of the charges related to the Sewol. The facts show that the blame for a great number of victims is not on the Blue house, but on the local authorities, who were unable to effectively conduct rescue operations, and later openly practiced window-dressing and misinformed their superiors. The President therefore did not receive timely information that would require a rapid response on her part. As the case involved the province of Jeolla (a regional stronghold of the Democrats), the opposition expressing storm of abuse had the advantage of shifting the blame from them to the Central government and it succeeded in doing this. The information campaign of Park Geun-hye's opponents contributed to her wilt and the formation in the mass consciousness of the former President's image that played its role in the later developments.