Economics, security, and technology in Northeast Asia

Technological development and innovation is a critical but under-studied source of power, influence, and change in international relations. How states acquire and exploit their technological capabilities and the impact this has on the global system are dimly explained by international relations scholars and often treated as a residual factor in examining economic or security issues (Gilpin 2001: chap. 5). ¹ For Northeast Asia, technological drivers have been central in its transformation into one of the world’s most economically dynamic and prosperous regions. Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea have all successfully turned from industrial latecomers into technological front-runners, while China is aggressively catching up. Technological considerations also loom large in some of the region’s most acute security problems, such as nuclear proliferation on the Korean Peninsula and military tensions in the Taiwan Strait.