Ideology and Foreign Policy on the Korean Peninsula

Abstract

What explains variation in South Korea’s foreign policy, and in particular, Seoul’s policy stance towards North Korea? Addressing the importance of ideology in understanding international relations on the Korean Peninsula, this chapter explores how ideology, channeled through domestic politics, operates as a crucial variable influencing the direction of South Korea’s inter-Korea policy. To address this variation in policy outcomes, the chapter unfolds in three parts. Part one offers some brief theoretical context for understanding the role of ideology in foreign policy. Part two addresses how the ideological orientation of progressive and conservative elites and the contestation for domestic political legitimacy in South Korea have shaped policies related to Korean reunification and inter-Korea relations. Part three then examines South Korea’s inter-Korea policy from 1997 to 2020 to demonstrate how ideology has produced variation in foreign policy outcomes across time.