Robert E. Bedeski

Sino-Korean Relations: Triangle of Tension, or Balancing a Divided Peninsula?

BACKGROUND: HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY Geography has played a major role in the destiny of the Korean people located as they were at the convergence of three empires at the beginning of the 2oth century. War and occupation were familiar to Koreans, but nothing prepared them for the ferocity of this century. A traditional policy of sadae (serving the powerful) had ameliorated some of the destructive aspects of nearby powers, and today Korea has no choice but to accept the reality of a dangerous geopolitical neighbourhood. The Korean peninsula has long been a strategic buffer between Japan and China, subject to additional pressures from Russian/Soviet expansion in the Far East. For this reason, Chinas policy toward Korea has been either to dominate it or deny it to another power. Despite a close relationship with North Korea in the 195os, based on support against the United States in the Korean War, the isolationist nationalism of President Kim Il Sung kept China at a distance, while Russian influence dominated in diplomacy, military advice, and economic aid. For centuries, Chinas northeastern frontier has been crucial to its security. Shanhaiguan, where the Great Wall ends at the sea, was one of several vulnerable passes which had to be guarded against intrusion by nomads from the north. When it

The Post-Cold War Order: Diagnoses and Prognoses

The Cold War and its conclusion - conclusions for international relations theory, Fred Halliday liberal democracy. constitutionalism and the new world order, Andrew Linklater the end of geopolitics?, J.L. Richardson the Soviet break-up and the new Eurasian geopolitics, John Fitzpatrick alliances and the emerging post-Cold War security system, Joseph A. Camilleri nuclear weapons and the new world order, Paul Keal future hypothesis - a concert of powers?, Coral Bell sharing the burdens of victory - principles and problems of a concert of powers, Richard Leaver the future of the liberal trading order, Vinod K. Aggarwal the new disorder in the periphery, John Ravenhill America - the firsters, the decliners, and the searchers for a new American foreign policy, Henry S. Bienen where and how does Japan fit?, David B. Bobrow Japanese security policy after the end of the Cold War, Jiro Yamaguchi China and the new world order, Ian Wilson middle power diplomacy in the changing Asia-Pacific order - Australia and Canada compared, Kim Richard Nossal at the margin - the South Pacific and changing world order, Greg Fry key security issues in the Asia-Pacific, Andrew Mack.