Post-Cold War northeast Asian regional development: Security issues and economic cooperation

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between regional security and economic cooperation in Northeast Asia in terms of post-Cold War regional development.;A gap in international studies exists between international relations and national development. This thesis employs a historical-structural approach, combined with structural analysis in regional security studies, to bridge this gap and to explain the interplay between security and economic relations.;Regional security Northeast Asia, as in any other regions which have encountered the Western powers since last century, has met structure-bound predicaments. The most important external factor is the world capitalist system dominated by Western powers. In response, Northeast Asian countries have pursued various strategies to guarantee their national security and economic development. Japan challenged the world order by establishing its own exclusive regional system. China, the core in the old regional system, also made its own effort at political and economic development. Japan's failure in WWII and the post-War reconstruction of the world system created a new environment for regional security. China became a challenging force in the world system.;Constant structural change and fundamental historical transformation have conditioned regional security and economic relations. The regional economy has undergone significant transition since capitalism penetrated the region. Production patterns have altered with the changing international relations in both economic and security areas. In the economic field, self-reliance, dependence and interdependence have all been experienced. In the regional system, continued efforts have been made to resist the world system. The pre-War imperialism destroyed the old regional system, but was later replaced by the post-War regional system based on the U.S. hegemony. With further economic structural change and the new trend toward globalization, Northeast Asian regional development has entered another period. The formula of the interrelationship between security and economic relationships, and the future of this relationship, can be better understood by inspecting the political-economic structure in a historical context.;In the three periods of the world system which we examine, historical transformation and structural change have generated the relationship between regional security and economic development in general.