ABSTRACT

This edited volume explores the past, present, and future of the Korean Peninsula, with special focus on South Korea, by connecting developments in politics with those in international relations and diplomacy.

The book focuses on how South Korea’s politics and international relations have evolved since the founding of the First Republic in 1948, with particular attention to the period surrounding the 2022 presidential election. The authors provide new insights into Korean politics, including South Korean electoral reform and relations with China and Japan, North Korea’s nuclear capacity, and North–South diplomacy.

Beginning with a commentary by Colin Crooks, Britain’s current Ambassador to South Korea and former Ambassador to North Korea, on recent British foreign policy changes and UK–Korea relations, this book will appeal to scholars and students of politics, international relations, diplomacy, and Korean Studies.

chapter 1|30 pages

Out of Proportion

The 2019 Electoral Reform and the State of Representative Democracy in South Korea 1

chapter 2|18 pages

South Korea's Democratic Experience

Political Leadership and Civil Society

chapter 4|17 pages

Reassessing the South Korea-China-Japan Trilateral Summits

The Limits of Institutionalism in East Asia

chapter 6|26 pages

Why Presenting a Foe as a Friend Can Make Sense

Explaining Shifts in North Korea's Construction of a South Korean Threat in State Media