International Relations Studies in South Korea

Bibliographic Data

ID12847656
AuthorsChung‐in Moon (Yonsei University, corresponding author), Taehwan Kim (0000-0003-3929-7676, Yonsei University)
Year2002
Volume2
Issue1
Pages45-68
Publication date2002-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of East Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1598-2408 • E-ISSN: 2234-6643
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1598240800000667
OpenAlexW2333299080
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited19

In this paper, we review and summarize recent trends of international relations studies in South Korea on three distinct dimensions and, on the basis of this, suggest future directions of research in the field. Our focus throughout the paper is on the constraints and opportunities for the development of indigenous international relations theories and models. Although the confrontational Cold War legacy on the Korean Peninsula sustains the validity of the powerful realist paradigm, we argue that critical challenges are breathing a new life into the academic field of international relations in a time of great change when a new global and regional order has been taking shape since the end of the Cold War. In order to accommodate these new changes and call attention to epistemological pluralism, we posit liberal constructivism, which combines liberalism with constructivism, as a new epistemological alternative to the existing lines of international relations theories. Given the opportunities and intellectual resources, we conclude, the future of the discipline of international relations in South Korea is quite promising

Cold war · Constructivism (international relations · Epistemology · Indigenous · International relations · International relations theory · Pluralism (philosophy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Philosophy