National Security Strategy: South Korea and the Northeast Asian Context (2002-2019)
type: CreativeWork
description: The importance of strategy and national security policymaking have become increasingly salient over the past few years. For South Korea, located at the intersection of great powers, these topics are particularly important. This thesis examines South Korea’s national security strategy (NSS) and the broader Northeast Asian context, covering roughly the time period from 2002 to 2019 over the four South Korean presidential administrations who have publicly released their governments’ NSS. It focuses more on unpacking the country’s holistic NSS over time and the underlying strategic logic behind their formulation, rather than on evaluating the policy or strategic outcomes. This study finds that overall, there has been greater continuity than change in South Korea’s NSS. Specifically, there has been strong thematic continuity in terms of the core areas represented by the ends, means, and ways of national strategy; consistently covering key areas such as inter-Korean relations, the US-ROK alliance, and the relations with the three neighboring powers – China, Japan, and Russia (external dimension); and promoting liberal democratic values, economic prosperity, strengthening general national security foundations (internal dimension). The broader NSS ends such as peace and prosperity on the peninsula or the broader region, and the means to achieve them (e.g. diplomacy, military) have also largely remained consistent. Next, this research finds that the biggest drivers of South Korea’s NSS have been (1) the strategic environment and (2) the individual administrations’ values and policy priorities – in that order of importance. In other words, given its inherently and consistently challenging geopolitical situation, South Korea’s level of agency and flexibility regarding its NSS have been inversely proportional to how high the tensions are in its strategic environment; after which individual presidents matter most as the subsequent influential factor. This study makes several con…
abstract: The importance of strategy and national security policymaking have become increasingly salient over the past few years. For South Korea, located at the intersection of great powers, these topics are particularly important. This thesis examines South Korea’s national security strategy (NSS) and the broader Northeast Asian context, covering roughly the time period from 2002 to 2019 over the four South Korean presidential administrations who have publicly released their governments’ NSS. It focuses more on unpacking the country’s holistic NSS over time and the underlying strategic logic behind their formulation, rather than on evaluating the policy or strategic outcomes. This study finds that overall, there has been greater continuity than change in South Korea’s NSS. Specifically, there has been strong thematic continuity in terms of the core areas represented by the ends, means, and ways of national strategy; consistently covering key areas such as inter-Korean relations, the US-ROK alliance, and the relations with the three neighboring powers – China, Japan, and Russia (external dimension); and promoting liberal democratic values, economic prosperity, strengthening general national security foundations (internal dimension). The broader NSS ends such as peace and prosperity on the peninsula or the broader region, and the means to achieve them (e.g. diplomacy, military) have also largely remained consistent. Next, this research finds that the biggest drivers of South Korea’s NSS have been (1) the strategic environment and (2) the individual administrations’ values and policy priorities – in that order of importance. In other words, given its inherently and consistently challenging geopolitical situation, South Korea’s level of agency and flexibility regarding its NSS have been inversely proportional to how high the tensions are in its strategic environment; after which individual presidents matter most as the subsequent influential factor. This study makes several con…
author: Lee, David
language: eng
keywords: Grand strategy, national security policymaking, National Security Strategy, NSS, South Korea
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/570739df-cf6a-40be-b83c-94f3b8d75efa/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2024-01-12
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:18Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.110444