This talk will examine the evolution of Korean strategic thought on regionalism, with particular focus on regional security cooperation:

1. How does South Korean regional thinking differ from that of its neighbors, and how has it evolved over time?,
   
2. Was there any discernable strategic thought to realize regional aspirations during the cold war era, and afterward how has it responded to the dynamics of regionalism in Northeast Asia?,
   
3. Is South Korean strategic thought on regionalism long-term, goal-oriented, and consistent? Does it set priorities, recognize trade-offs, and change in response to actual results or new developments in the region? How do competing visions of domestic forces define its scope and direction?,
   
4. Under what circumstances has Seoul given regional multilateral cooperation a prominent place in its strategic thinking and national security doctrine? Is it based on careful deliberations and a realistic understanding of costs and benefits?,
   
5. Wither to the 6 Party Talks (given North Korea said the Talks are dead) and a five-party proposal by Profesident Lee Myung Bak, about which China seems reluctant?
   

The speaker will review Seoul’s strategic thought on regional multilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia during and after the cold war, followed by consideration of the challenges and opportunities for growing regionalism with Korean “centrality.”

Shin-wha Lee is currently a visiting professor at School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University and also serving as a Scholar-in-Residence at the Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations.  She worked at the World Bank and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Sudan. She served as Special Advisor to the United Nations, 'Rwandan Independent Inquiry,' Chair's Advisor of East Asian Vision Group (EAVG), and Coordinator of UNESCO Chair on Peace, Democracy and Human Rights.  She has published numerous articles and books on global security, international  organizations, East Asian security cooperation, UN peacekeeping operations, and nontraditional security such as environmental and human security. Lee holds a Ph.D. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Although South Korea has democratized, the weakness of liberalism there as a major political ideology and value system has prevented the full flowering of democracy.  This talk will examine the historical roots of liberalism's failure to take firm root in Korean politics and society.  The causes of such weakness are to be found, in both of the two major social and political forces in Korean society,  conservatives and radical/progressive forces; neither has been or is liberal.  The resulting problems include a strong, highly centralized state and its authoritarian tendencies,  the failure to create a stable party system, civil society's weak autonomy vis-à-vis the state, and inadequate constitutional checks-and-balances among the three branches of government exacerbated by a weak judiciary.  With democratic practice falling ever farther behind the Korean people's aspirations, enhanced liberalism will not solve all problems.  Nevertheless, Dr. Choi argues, it could point the way toward a richer Korean democracy.

Jang Jip Choi is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Korea University, Seoul, Korea, and currently a Visiting Professor in the Sociology Department at Stanford University.  Specializing in contemporary political history in Korea, the theory of democracy, comparative politics and labor politics, professor Choi is the author of many books, scholarly articles and political commentaries on Korean politics,  including  Democracy after Democratization in Korea (2002),  Which Democracy? (2007), and From Minjung to Citizens (2008).  Professor Choi holds a B.A. in political science from Korea University, and  an M.A. and a Ph.D in Political Science from the University of Chicago. He was a professor in the department of political science at Korea University until his retirement in 2008.