Russia and the Korean Peninsula: Political Realism and Empathy

Russia and the Korean Peninsula:
Political Realism and Empathy


Lukin A.L.,

Oriental Institute – School of Regional and International Science, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia, artlukin@mail.ru


elibrary_id: 206813 |


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2021.03.12

For citation:

Lukin A.L. Russia and the Korean Peninsula: Political Realism and Empathy. – Polis. Political Studies. 2021. No. 3. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2021.03.12



Abstract

The political developments on the Korean Peninsula, which is situated, in fact, at the heart of North-East Asia, will largely determine the strategic situation in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. The monograph by Anatoly Torkunov, Georgy Toloraya and Ilya Diachkov “Modern Korea: The Metamorphosis of turbulent years” is aimed at the consideration of the situation on and around the Peninsula from 2008 to the present. The monograph explores several major interconnected subjects: the domestic processes in South and North Koreas, the North-South relations, the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula and attempts to tackle the problem, the prospects for the formation of a multilateral security architecture in Northeast Asia, as well as Russia’s policy on the Peninsula and Russia’s relations with each of the two Korean states. Although some of the authors’ conclusions can be argued, the book, on the one hand, distinguishes a sober and realistic analysis of the processes on the Korean Peninsula, and, on the other hand, a sense of geopolitical empathy, allowing a better understanding of the motives that pushed North Korea on the nuclear and missile path. The authors of the monograph propose a visionary ‘North Pacific Project’ – an institution of cooperation of key actors in Northeast Asia and the North Pacific, in which it would be possible to interact not only on nuclear strategic issues, but also on a wide range of problems. 

Keywords
Korean Peninsula, DPRK (North Korea), Republic of Korea (South Korea), Northeast Asia, nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula, Russian-Korean relations.


References

Bolton J. 2020. The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir. New York: Simon & Schuster

Buzan B., Waever O. 2003. Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Goldstein A. 2000. Deterrence and Security in the 21st Century: China, Britain, France, and the Enduring Legacy of the Nuclear Revolution. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003055402344344

Korhonen P., Mori. T. 2019. North Korea as a Small Great Power. – The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. 01.03. URL: https://apjjf.org/2019/05/Korhonen.html (accessed 30.03.2021).

Suh J.J. 2004. Bound to Last? The U.S.-Korea Alliance and Analytical Eclecticism. – Rethinking Security in East Asia: Identity, Power, and Efficiency. Ed. by J.J. Suh, P.J. Katzenstein, A. Carlson. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. P. 131-171.

 

Thucydides. 2017. The Melian Dialogue. URL: https://we.hse.ru/data/2017/12/29/1160703552/Melosskiy_dialog.pdf (accessed 30.03.2021).

Torkunov A.V., Toloraya G.D., Dyachkov I.V. 2021. Sovremennaya Koreya: metamorfozy turbulentnykh let (2008–2020 gg.) [Modern Korea. Metamorphoses of Turbulent Years (2008–2020)]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie Publishers. 448 p. (In Russ.) 

Content No. 3, 2021

See also:


Fedorovsky A.N.,
Common history and different destinies of the two Korean states. – Polis. Political Studies. 2009. No5

Toloraya G.D., Torkunov A.V.,
Nuclear and Missile Threat on the Korean Peninsula: Origins and Response Measures. – Polis. Political Studies. 2016. No4

Inoguchi T.,
Political Science in Three Democracies, Disaffected (Japan), Third Wave (Korea) and Fledgeling (China). – Polis. Political Studies. 2004. No5

Round Table of the «Polis» Journal, Streltsov D.V., Chugrov S.V., Karelova L.B., Oznobishchev S.K.,
Russia and Japan. Part II. View from Russia. – Polis. Political Studies. 2014. No1

Gandhi R.,
South Asia, Central Asia and Russia: hte Islamic Factor. – Polis. Political Studies. 1993. No3

 
 

Archive

   2024      2023      2022      2021   
   2020      2019      2018      2017      2016   
   2015      2014      2013      2012      2011   
   2010      2009      2008      2007      2006   
   2005      2004      2003      2002      2001   
   2000      1999      1998      1997      1996   
   1995      1994      1993      1992      1991