Junotane Korea

Junotane Korea

Share this post

Junotane Korea
Junotane Korea
South Korea's missing middle power diplomacy
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Commentary

South Korea's missing middle power diplomacy

Without middle power diplomacy, South Korea allows its foreign policy to be steered by North Korea and the United States

Mar 15, 2019
∙ Paid

Share this post

Junotane Korea
Junotane Korea
South Korea's missing middle power diplomacy
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Taking a contrarian view on this topic provides significant insight into the shortcomings of current South Korean foreign policy. This has recently come to the fore in South Korea’s attempts to address issues relating to North Korea.

In 2017–18, South Korea understandably pursued crisis diplomacy as the threat of immediate conflict increased with inflammatory US and North Korean rhetoric. This required high-level decision-making, close coordination between partners and allies, clear initial signalling, limited and achievable goals, and a willingness to compromise. South Korea’s crisis diplomacy was highly successful and managed to rein in US and North Korean excesses and reduce the risk of miscalculation and conflict.

But the effectiveness of crisis diplomacy is limited by time and does not provide tools to transform the root causes of tension.

Assuming a behaviour-based definition of middle power, South Korea’s crisis diplomacy should have immediately been followed by characteristic mid…

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Jeffrey Robertson
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More