This book examines international aid in North Korea, in particular the ongoing policy of withholding aid, through the lens of the impact on the general population to present an argument for sustainable development. Focusing on the human rights of North Koreans and presenting a case for the use of aid as a provision for social change, it explores an alternative narrative to the existing long-drawn-out rhetoric of ‘denuclearisation-first’. The book’s scope includes evaluations of the causes of international sanctions and their impact, the Kim regime’s mitigation of sanctions through marketisation and a digital economy as well as barriers to aid monitoring and the reason for the absence of any mass anti-regime movement. It also posits that North Korea is a fragile state but cloaked by the image of a strong regime. The book succinctly demonstrates that the key to unlocking the potential of North Korea’s ‘cloaked society’ does not lie in sanctions, but is to be found in engagement with development aid. As such it will appeal to students of Korean Studies, Development Studies, Asian Politics and International Relations. Chapters 1 and 7 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

This book compares the rapid development of South Korea over the past 70 years with selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa to assess what factors contributed to the country’s success story, and why it is that countries that were comparable in the past continue to experience challenges in achieving and sustaining economic growth. In the 1950s, South Korea’s GDP per capita was $876, roughly comparable with that of Cote d’Ivoire and somewhat below Ghana’s. The country’s subsequent transformation from a war-ravaged, international aid-dependent economy to the 13th largest economy in the world has been the focus of considerable international admiration and attention. But how was it that South Korea succeeded in multiplying its GDP per capita by a factor of 23, while other Less Developed Countries continue to experience challenges? This book compares South Korea’s politics of development and foreign assistance with that of Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia, which were also major recipients of the U.S. aid, to investigate the specific contexts that made it possible for South Korea to achieve success. Overall, this book argues that effective state capacity in South Korea’s domestic and international politics provided an anchor for diplomatic engagement with donors and guided domestic political actors in the effective use of aid for economic development. This book will be of interest to researchers and students working on development, comparative political economy, and foreign aid, and to policy makers and practitioners looking for a greater understanding of comparative development trajectories.

Kim examines the impact of domestic politics in accomplishing South Korea’s middle power diplomacy through the provision of foreign aid. Since the 2000s, the rise of emerging nations as donors has brought about a remarkable transition in the international development community. South Korea has closed the gap with other Development Assistance Committee donors in terms of the quality of its aid. In doing so it has taken on a more active role as a middle power, acting as an agenda-setter and a mediator in the field of development and many other wide policy areas including trade, finance, environment, security, and peacekeeping. What factors, then, have encouraged South Korea to maintain and enhance the existing international development system? Not only how they behave, but also how their behaviour is determined is essential to truly understand the impact of emerging donors on the existing order. Kim highlights the significance of domestic politics in determining South Korea’s foreign aid behaviour, framing it in terms of South Korea’s wider middle power diplomatic strategy. This book will be of great value to scholars of South Korean politics and foreign policy, as well as to international relations scholars with an interest in the foreign aid policy of middle powers.

This volume details how the diplomatic successes of South Korean presidents removed the country from the international isolation it experienced in the aftermath of the Korean War and also provided the necessary international connections for the expansions of international trade it experienced. Patterson and Choi explain how diplomacy then was the primary process that allowed for the successful implementation of South Korea’s export-led economic development strategy which in turn led to the rapid growth that allowed it to eventually the internationally influential actor it is today

Politics in North and South Korea provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the political dynamics of the two Koreas. Giving equal weight to North and South Korea, the authors trace the history of political and economic development and international relations of the Korean peninsula, showing how South Korea became democratized and how Juche ideology has affected the establishment and operation of a totalitarian system in North Korea. Written in a straightforward, jargon free manner, this textbook utilizes both historical-institutional approaches and quantitative evidence to analyse the political dimensions of a wide variety of issues including: Legacies of early-twentieth-century Japanese colonial rule South Korean democratization and democratic consolidation South Korean diplomacy and North Korean nuclear crises The economic development of both North and South Korea The three-generation power succession in North Korea North Korean human rights issues Inter-Korean relations and reunification This textbook will be essential reading for students of Korean Politics and is also suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on East Asian Politics, Asian Studies, and International Relations.

This book aims to explore and contextualize G20 rising powers’ increasing role in international development from a comprehensive and multidimensional perspective. This book will scrutinize the G20 rising powers’ evolving role as international development actors around three research questions: 1) How do we contextualize and locate G20 rising powers as emerging actors in international development? 2) What are the main contributions, trends and limits of G20 rising powers in South-South Cooperation? 3) Does G20 rising powers’ active involvement in international development support their foreign policy objectives and challenge the international development order? Based on these three, interrelated research questions, this cluster of chapters is structured as follows: The first part, elaborated under the first research question, focuses on the historical development and current dynamics of (G20) rising powers’ evolving actorness in international development to assess their main motivations, ambitions and instruments. The second part examines the main contributions, trends and limits of G20 rising powers in South-South Cooperation. The third part delves into an assessment of the linkage between G20 rising powers’ active involvement in international development and their foreign policies.

“This is a must-read book for anyone searching for insight into the peace process of the divided Korean peninsula. As a peace researcher and activist, the author highlights the role of civil society in making peacebuilding possible and sustainable on the Korean peninsula. This volume opens a new horizon to the study of peace and conflict.” —Koo, Kab Woo, Professor, University of North Korean Studies “This book makes an enormous contribution to our understanding of the dynamics of peace and conflict on the Korean peninsula and expands our understanding of the requirements of sustainable peacebuilding. The emphasis on the role of civil society as part of an inclusive approach to strategic peacebuilding is especially helpful.”—Iain Atack, Assistant Professor in International Peace Studies, Trinity College Dublin “This expertly crafted book makes an original contribution to understanding peacebuilding theory and the critical role of civil society in strategic peacebuilding. It offers valuable lessons and hope for peaceful transformation of the Korean conflict as well as the negotiation of a sustainable peace in other protracted conflict settings.”—Wendy Lambourne, Senior Lecturer, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney The Post-Cold War era witnessed a dramatic rise in breakthroughs for peace processes, including the Korean peninsula, between parties mired in protracted conflict. However, many such processes broke down within a short period of time. This book explores the possibilities for comprehensive and sustainable peacebuilding strategy in the Korean peace process, beyond reaching an agreement, by reviewing diverse peacebuilding activities from government and civil society.

The United Nations, Indo-Pacific and Korean Peninsula focuses on the United Nations (UN) and its frameworks to examine the power politics on the two of the world’s more politically sensitive and geo-strategically crucial regions of the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific. This book provides answers to broader questions that are relevant to the global emerging peace architecture. The book is divided into three parts: global, Indo-Pacific and the Korean Peninsula. The first part analyses the competing world views of the U.S, China, Japan, and Korea and the evolvement of UN debates on global and regional security, with special emphasis on the Indo-Pacific and the Korean Peninsula. The second part concerns major bilateral or multilateral security issues facing Indo-Pacific countries and their UN debates in this regard. In particular, with new developments in the Indo-Pacific, such as the Quad process involving the Australia-India-Japan-United States and an anticipation expansion of the Group of Seven (G-7), chapters analyse how these mechanisms expand their focus within the scope of Indo-Pacific power politics. Part three focuses on the UN centered debates on two Koreas and their strategic fallouts at regional and global levels. Examining the security order evolving around the politics of the Indo-Pacific regions and Korean Peninsula and analysing the relevance of the UN and its mechanisms, this book will be of interest to researchers studying International Relations, Security Studies, Asian Studies, in particular Korean Studies and the Indo-Pacific.

This book examines the evolution of foreign aid policy in Japan and South Korea, analyzing policy rationales, institutional developments and policy choices. The book searches for new strategies of international development cooperation in an uncertain world. The book compares two countries’ policies in a unique way: pairs of Japanese and Korean scholars examine same policy themes in separate chapters, contrasting differences and similarities. This book will be of great value to scholars of international development cooperation, public policy and East Asian politics.

In 1991 South Korea, along with North Korea, was made an official member of the UN. Using international relations theory, this book begins by looking at the struggle and eventual impact of the membership on the two countries post division in 1948. It investigates the predicted outcomes prior to joining, and whether these outcomes have come to fruition nationally and on a global scale. Following this, there is focus on South Korea's ability to exert an influence on international decision making in world-politics, and how this affected inter-Korean relations. Importantly, analysis looks at how participation in the Security Council (1996-1997 and 2013-2014) further extended the country's capabilities to adopt resolutions, including those affecting North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes and human rights record. South Korea's participation in peacekeeping operations, Koreans appointed to high positions within the UN system and payments of the UN budget are also investigated. The study concludes with discussion of the role of the UN as a forum for international contacts and for providing knowledge otherwise unavailable to non-members.South Korea in the United Nations is unique in its analysis of South Korea's relations with the UN prior to and, above all, after 1991, thereby enhancing understanding of the significance of its UN membership as well as the importance of being a UN member. Suitable for scholars in Korean studies, international relations and East Asian politics, it can also be used as a reference work by policy-makers in the region, and for students and professionals working within the UN system.