Middle Power Diplomacy Of South Korea

In the 1980s,the term "middle power" appeared in Korean scholars’discussions on their national roles.Then,this discussion was extended from academia to political field.But until Lee Myung-bak took office as president of Korea in 2008,the vocabulary "middle power" was officially recognized by the official and become an important principle guided to South Korea’s foreign policy direction and the positioning of its own national role.However,given the multidimensional nature of the "middle power" itself,the limited strength of the Korean national strength and the complexity of the situation in East Asia,the Korean government chooses"develop cooperation" as a pillar for the realization of the middle power diplomacy.While,at present,domestic and foreign scholars mainly focus on the comprehensive and macroscopic discussion of the study of Korean foreign powers and lacks specific level of analysis.Therefore,this thesis chooses to analyze the diplomatic strategy of South Korea’s middle power under the macro perspective by taking the "development cooperation policy" as the starting point.This thesis includes four parts.The introductory part mainly analyzes the background and significance of the research,the research methods and ideas,the research status of domestic and foreign scholars and the innovations and difficulties of the article.The first chapter firstly defines the concept of middle power from the perspective of systemic-approach,functional approach and behavioral approach;Secondly,it analyzes the characteristics and fields of the middle power diplomacy and puts forward the salient features of the "niche diplomacy";Thirdly,it compares the common grounds and differences between the traditional and emerging middle powers and puts forward that the emerging middle power has a pursuit in the field of "high politics",which is different from the traditional one.This chapter also analyzes South Korea’s middle power diplomacy,including the time and background of introducing the concept to South Korea,the reasons,bases and fields on implementing this strategy.The article argues that the pursuit of "middle power" status is a strategic choice for South Korea’s domestic elites after deeply thinking about South Korea’s national role,and this strategic choice is supported by the growing influence of South Korea.There are many areas of middle power,but South Korea has chosen develop cooperation as a breakthrough in advancing the strategy with its inherent logic and rationality.The second chapter analyzes the strategic objectives of Korea’s development cooperation policy,such as playing a bridge role,becoming a meeting convenor and a rule diffuser,becoming a participant and leader in the new mechanism and new norm construction.Then,based on effectiveness of development cooperation,the "Spillover effect"can comprehensively promote the middle,power diplomacy.Then,it analyzes Korea’s.act on cooperation development,including the establishment of institutions,the development of legal norms and the implementation of the projects.The institutional settings and legal norms provide a framework for the implementation of this policy,and the projects are a support to this policy.The third chapter analyzes the problems in the field of development cooperation in South Korea.Compared with Sweden,this paper analyzes the deficiencies of Korea’s development cooperation policy in terms of policy continuity,inter-agency coordination and cooperation,official development assistance and project transparency.The last part is the conclusion,which summarizes the promotion effects of the Korea’s development cooperation policy on its middle power diplomacy.As an important part of South Korea’s foreign diplomacy,the function of development cooperation far beyond itself.As a tool,it strongly promotes the economic relations between South Korea and the recipients,which also enhances the local people’s goodwill to South Korea as well as the international image and reputation of Korea.More importantly,it effectively enhances South Korea’s diplomatic effectiveness.Especially in the African region,many countries which have accepted South Korea’s aid alienate relations with North Korea and turn close to South Korea.They support South Korea’s denuclearization stance on the peninsula and oppose North Korea’s nuclear test.They also give their support to South Korea’s relevant initiatives within the United Nations.Meanwhile,the conclusion also points out the limitations of South Korea’s foreign policy,especially the sustainability of the policy which will greatly affect the actual effects of this policy.