Choi, Young Jong

Abstract
This paper shows that South Korea has a strong case to seek a regionalist solution for its security and prosperity. South Korea’s diplomatic activism has a long tradition, but has performed poorly. This paper suggests that South Korea needs to learn from the experience of other middle powers, particularly Australia and Canada. Conventional works on such diplomatic strategies adopted by middle powers show that successful middle power diplomacy requires a niche, a hegemon’s support or at least benign neglect, reliable coalition partners, and proper institution building and management. Based on these findings, this paper suggests that South Korea’s regional strategy should be founded on solid cooperation with the US, a commitment to binding multilateralism, and close cooperation with other countries, both middle and small powers, in the region. President Lee’s “New Asian Initiative” holds great promise in this regard.
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