South Korea at the crossroads: autonomy and alliance in an era of rival powers

Abstract

South Korea at the crossroads provides readers with a well-written chronicle of South Korea's contemporary foreign policy history, particularly regarding its relations and security alliance with the United States. The book is an easy read for non-experts on foreign policy or Korea but it should be of interest to academics too. The first seven chapters give an overview of the evolution of South Korea's foreign policy, when the country navigated between its desire for autonomy and its alliance with the United States, as well as the country's economic and social progress since its independence from Japan in 1945. In the other three chapters, Snyder lays out South Korea's foreign policy options regarding three significant policy issues. Chapter eight outlines South Korea's aspiration to escape the geographical constraints of its region, where it is surrounded by Great Powers, to earn its place at the global governance table as a middle power. Chapter nine considers determinants of South Korea's strategic choice between a rising China and its long-time security ally the United States. Snyder argues that South Korea will continue to rely on the US due to sunk costs of the alliance, institutional binding between the allies and value differences with China. Chapter ten speculates on potential scenarios about Korean unification and concludes that it is distant and unfeasible, unless North Korea cooperates or collapses.