East Asia International Relations and International Relations Theory: Where Does a Poor Fit Exist, and What to Do about It

Kim, Min-hyung

doi:10.1177/0021909618777269

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In other words, IRT should be as generalizable as possible across time and across space" (Kim 2018(Kim , 1208. Moreover, "we strive to refine the existing [mainstream American] IRT and make it more suitable for East Asia IR" by "problematising its major assumptions and central claims on the basis of East Asian experiences" (Kim 2018(Kim , 1202. This in turn solves the ongoing problem of a poor fit between the existing IR theories and East Asian IR realities.…”

Section: Epistemological Western-centrism In Pursuit Of a Universalis...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Inadvertent Reproduction of Western-centrism in South Korean IR Theorization: Epistemological, Teleological, and Complicit Western-centrism

Cho¹

2023

kjis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Relations (IR) studies as well as social sciences, Western-centrism -to put it differently, Western-dependency -has much been problematized in their knowledge production and consumption. With this critical awareness, the South Korean IR community has recently sought to craft a more independent, more global, and less Western-centric scholarship in the 21st century, by doing different IR theorization on their own rather than just importing and consuming mainstream IR theories from the West. Against this backdrop, this article critically examines how the South Korean IR community has talked about the creation of indigenous or non/less-Western-centric IR theorizations. Specifically, three domestic sites of IR theorization are examined in detail, the first involving the construction of a universalist Korean school of IR, the second focused on South Korean middle power diplomacy narratives, and the third concentrating on the appropriation of the Global IR turn by South Korean IR. Although these three theoretical enterprises desire the transcendence of local IR knowledge production over Western-centrism/Western-dependency, meta-theoretically their work remains firmly grounded in Western-centrism. Ultimately, there is a very high probability that each effort will, in fact, not overcome, but rather reproduce mainstream positivist IR theory's Western-centrism.

show abstract

Section: Epistemological Western-centrism In Pursuit Of a Universalis...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Inadvertent Reproduction of Western-centrism in South Korean IR Theorization: Epistemological, Teleological, and Complicit Western-centrism

Cho¹

2023

kjis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Ritual and Region

Davies

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Why has ASEAN endured and why do members, many of whom remain comparatively weak and poor, continue to invest in the regional project? Existing answers, either that ASEAN is meaningless or that it has transformed regional affairs through the creation of shared values are both misplaced. Neither argument is empirically plausible. Instead, this Element argues that ASEAN has and continues to serve state interest through the creation of a shared ritual and symbolic framework. This framework has mitigated regional tension through the performance of regionalism, but has not fundamentally addressed the sources of that tension.

show abstract

The Principle of Righteousness and the Chosŏn–Ming and ROK–ROC Security Commitments*

Shao,

2024

Pacific Focus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study addresses the question of why some decision‐makers and political elites in Chosŏn and the Republic of Korea (ROK) remained committed to the Ming Dynasty and the Republic of China (ROC) when the latter had declined in power. Based on the social psychological literature on righteousness, we explore this relationship through the lens of spontaneous and binding mechanisms. The former refers to voluntary help after reciprocity has been internalized as a duty, and the latter suggests that although individuals are reluctant to help, the fear of violating righteousness motivates continued commitment. Using the most‐different case design, this study finds supporting evidence from both the Chosŏn and the ROK periods. Specifically, Chosŏn loyalist officials insisted on aiding the weakened Ming and dethroned the rationalist King, Gwanghaegun. Moreover, those Korean elites who lived through the Korean Independence Movement and the Korean War emphasized diplomatic ties with the ROC even after the ROC lost its UN seat in 1971. By integrating social psychology and constructivism literature, the findings illuminate how the norms of righteousness shape decision‐makers' foreign policy and alliance commitment preferences.

show abstract

East Asia International Relations and International Relations Theory: Where Does a Poor Fit Exist, and What to Do about It

Cited by 3 publications

References 62 publications

Inadvertent Reproduction of Western-centrism in South Korean IR Theorization: Epistemological, Teleological, and Complicit Western-centrism

Inadvertent Reproduction of Western-centrism in South Korean IR Theorization: Epistemological, Teleological, and Complicit Western-centrism

Ritual and Region

The Principle of Righteousness and the Chosŏn–Ming and ROK–ROC Security Commitments*

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About