ABSTRACT
South Korea's security policy changed from anti-communism to mutual antagonism during the Cold War. This chapter examines whether South Korea's security policy change is resulted from international systemic or domestic institutional factors. It looks into the relative explanatory power of internal and external determinants of security policy change within the context of the Cold War era from 1954 to 1987. The international attributes provide systemic constraints and opportunities that determine South Korea's security policies. The chapter also examines hypotheses proposed by security theories of international structuralism and domestic institutionalism. Geo-political alignment mechanisms are generally maintained through formal diplomatic relations and memberships in international institutions. Changes in South Korea's diplomacy resulted from a realistic calculation of its geo-political situations. Finally, the chapter explores critical determinants of security policy change in the Cold War order, and assesses the institutional capacity of South Korea's security policy-making institutions.
