Back to the Basics : Multilateral Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia and the Neorealist Paradigm :Multilateral Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia and the Neorealist Paradigm

Kim Jangho

doi:10.14731/kjis.2005.12.45.5.37

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Multilateral Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia and the Neorealist Paradigm

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한국국제정치학회
국제정치논총 학술저널
The Korean Journal of International Relations Vol.45 No.5
2005.12 37 - 56 (20page)
DOI : 10.14731/kjis.2005.12.45.5.37

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Kim Jangho

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The new order which is still taking shape in northeast Asia is perplexing the policy makers and the academic community alike. Even well over a decade after the end of the international East-West confrontation, the largely bilateral security arrangements of northeast Asia still remain the lynch pin of security relations in the region, and the global trends of reconciliation and cooperation has yet to bear fruit. Indeed, it can be argued that national strategies, particularly in the area of defence, are more relevant in the region precisely because of the end of the super power contest there. An alternative multilateral structure, voiced by many, which might adequately cope with the interacting interests of the great powers and the greater complexity of the region has yet to emerge.
This paper highlights the prevalence of neorealism for the analysis of the post Cold War northeast Asian regional order in order to pin point the factors that are inhibiting the creation of a multilateral peace mechanism. Because how we perceive a situation or a problem often dictates the solutions that may come about, we need to be thorough in our assessments of the approaches that we use. Recent trends of eclecticism in international relations theory seem only to be confounding the already complex and diverse assessments of the situation in northeast Asia. International relations theories exist precisely to minimise confusion, as well as to simplify what would otherwise be confounding. They are the tools which provide coherent and consistent explanations to the behavior of international actors and this is possible because of the theoretical explicitness and the purity which an international relations theory must entail. This paper will show that although northeast Asia may be analysed from the perspective of many different approaches, the neorealist paradigm offers the most fruitful insights. This paper is not a critique of this trend of eclecticism in international relations theory but it hopes to add to the discussion on the debate by reassessing neorealism and its prevalence in the international politics of northeast Asia.

#neorealism #neoliberalism #northeast Asia #realism #liberalism #power politics #balance of power #China #United States #Cold War #international relations theory #eclecticism #multilateral security management #cooperation