A relational approach to Indo‐Pacific strategies: South Korea's role in a networked regional architecture

The United States and South Korea are both shifting their engagement in the Indo‐Pacific, but in fundamentally different ways. In recent years, Washington has altered the format of its engagement in the region—shifting toward an increasingly minilateral approach seen in the Quad and AUKUS arrangements. On the other hand, Seoul has sought primarily to alter the focus of its engagement—shifting from a narrow focus on the Korean Peninsula toward a broader regional approach. In other words, American leaders have adjusted the format of their engagement while Korean leaders have adjusted the focus of their engagement. This has created a disconnect. As South Korea has aligned its focus to that of the United States, Seoul has expected Washington to integrate South Korea more deeply into American regional strategy. Yet, US efforts to build minilaterals have seldom included South Korea. Addressing this divide will require leaders in both capitals to adjust their approaches to both focus and format in the Indo‐Pacific.

Section: South Korea's Minilateral Optionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Rise Of the Indo‐pacific And Minilateral Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focus versus format: An American view of South Korea's regional engagement

Cooper

2023

“…This article addresses these questions by adopting a network-centered approach as posed by Kinne (2018), Qin (2016), Maoz (2010), Hafner-Burton et al (2009), Kahler (2009), Wasserman and Faust (1994), Yeo and Chung (2023), and others. A network-centered approach, which assumes relational ties as the unit of analysis, attempts to overcome the ontological individualism sustained by structural approaches that simply focus on actors' attributes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recalibrating South Korea's role and regional network in the Indo‐Pacific: An analysis from a network‐centered approach

Chung

2023

Self Cite

Despite China, Russia, and North Korea's attempts to change the status quo in East Asia, South Korea has remained disconnected from the network of regional countries working together to cope with these revisionists. This article adopts a network-centered approach to reveal how South Korea's regional network has narrowly focused on the bilateral ROK-US alliance to counter the North Korean threat. Although South Korea has expanded its role from junior partner to balancer and has often forged regional networks to respond to the changing balance of power, South Korea has ultimately utilized this role and network as leverage against North Korea to improve inter-Korean relations. Now, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is attempting to reconfigure both its self-identified role, describing itself as a "global pivotal state," and its regional strategy in the Indo-Pacific beyond the Korean Peninsula to align itself with the United States and other like-minded countries.

“…The argument here follows the premise laid out in the series' introductory essay by Andrew Yeo and Kuyoun Chung, namely, that states exist within a web of interconnected relations; a state's position within a set of interconnected relations shapes its ability to influence other actors; and, the closeness or thickness of ties between states influences a state's ability to affect the behavior of another state (Yeo & Chung, 2023). The article argues that for ASEAN, South Korea is a relatively consistent but not exceptionally crucial actor in bolstering the association's network power.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

South Korea in the ASEAN‐centered regional network

Teo

2023

Relying on a networked perspective, this article argues that South Korea is an actor of relative importance in ASEAN's regional network, but it ultimately does not occupy a place that is more crucial than the association's other dialogue partners. In the context of ASEAN seeking to maintain its network power in an evolving Indo‐Pacific, South Korea has played a supportive role in ASEAN's pursuit of social access, brokerage links and minimizing its exit potential from the Indo‐Pacific network. South Korea's role, however, has been a comparably limited one rooted in specific functional areas and focused on certain ASEAN member states. While these efforts would certainly reinforce ASEAN's network power to some extent, the relatively thin network links between ASEAN and South Korea in other sectors suggest that there is little potential to expand cooperation beyond a functional and socioeconomic trajectory.