ABSTRACT
In the study of international relations, the prevailing view about the characteristic of small states is their relative inability to conduct independent foreign policies due to constraints imposed by the structure of the international environment. This axiom is particularly accepted in the analysis of the foreign policies of Korea (both South and North). The common supposition about Korea is that, as a small power surrounded by major powers, the fate of this ‘shrimp among whales’ has for centuries been determined at various times by China, Japan, Russia and the United States. Moreover, geographically centred at the nexus of Great Powers’ interests, the Korean Peninsula has been valued more for its strategic than for its intrinsic value. This being so, the conclusion often drawn about both the formation and the implementation of Korean foreign policies is that they are wholly dependent on the machinations or vagaries of its more powerful neighbours. These immutable traits cause Korean foreign economic policy to be determined in a reactive fashion, responding to the exigencies of the situations thrust upon the country. According to this capabilities-based argument, the only way Korean (again, both South and North) foreign policy formation can become more proactive is with a corresponding elevation of Korea’s status and power in the regional hierarchy.
