To Hedge or Not to Hedge
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6415959 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mehtap Kara (0000-0002-3154-8402, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-36 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Asian Survey (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-4687 • E-ISSN: 1533-838X |
| Publisher | University of California Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1525/as.2025.2681731 |
| OpenAlex | W4413090984 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 36 |
During President Yoon Suk-yeol’s leadership, South Korea reaffirmed alignment with the United States, supported the US-led Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy, and embraced “strategic clarity” by abandoning the “strategic ambiguity” and hedging approach of the Moon Jae-in administration. President Yoon’s impeachment following his declaration of martial law, uncertainties surrounding a second Trump presidency, and the deepening cooperation among China, Russia, and North Korea have prompted South Korean policymakers to reevaluate the country’s strategic posture amid intensifying great power competition. This article argues that rising uncertainty in international politics, combined with a new liberal administration, will lead South Korea to revive strategic ambiguity as means of pursuing greater autonomy and more balanced policies between the US, China, and Russia. It examines Seoul’s dilemma in transitioning from hedging to balancing, its repositioning under the Lee Jae-myung administration, and the implications of a return to strategic hedging for balance-of-power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific
Administration (probate law · Ambiguity · China · Dilemma · Economics · Hedge · Impeachment · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Presidency · Security Dilemma · Global trade and economics · International Development and Aid · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Public Administration
Getting hedging right
Change or Continuity? Seoul's Approach to Southeast Asia under the New Southern Policy
Covid-19 and the Political Framing of China, Nationalism, and Borders in the U.S. and South Korean News Media
South Korea
Hedging Strategies of the Middle Powers in East Asian Security
Beyond Balancing and Bandwagoning
Hedging between the United States and China? South Korea’s ideology-driven behavior and its implications for national security
Shrinking room for hedging
The variable effectiveness of hedging strategies
Power, trust, and network complexity
Under What Conditions Would South Korea Go Nuclear? Seoul's Strategic Choice on Nuclear Weapons
How Do Weaker States Hedge? Unpacking Asean states’ alignment behavior towards China
The Indo-Pacific Strategy and US Alliance Network Expandability
Adoption, accommodation or opposition? - regional powers respond to American-led Indo-Pacific strategy
Bolstering middle power standing
Riding the tide
Alliance Formation and the Balance of World Power
Bandwagoning for Profit
Abandoning Hedging
The Essence of Hedging
Vietnam’s Hedging Strategy against China since Normalization
South Korea in 2023
Covid-19, Anti-Chinese Sentiment, and Foreign Policy Attitudes in South Korea
The Impact of the Ukraine War on Russian–North Korean Relations
Southeast Asia and China
Beyond Hedging? Japanese and South Korean Responses to US–China Competition
South Korea in 2024
The Security Dilemma in Alliance Politics
Reassessing Hedging
System Structure and State Strategy
Whither the Indo-Pacific? Middle power strategies from Australia, South Korea and Indonesia
President Moon Jae-in at Midterm
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |