Issue Korea needs a new composite grand strategy as the framework behind its rise weakens

Summary

The report draws a historical lesson: when established and rising powers clashed, effective leadership by the incumbent allowed a new system to emerge through negotiation, while failure meant a new order came only after war. Thirty-five years ago Korea handled the post-Cold War transition well through its Northern Policy, breaking the regional Cold War standoff and later becoming a core G20 economy. Pressure now bearing on the supports of the post-Cold War structure threatens the very framework that enabled that economic growth and international standing. At home Korea also faces low growth, low fertility, ageing, population decline and regional depopulation, while abroad it faces geoeconomic rivalry, the return of great-power politics, Eurasian wars, tariff wars, climate change and technological change. The authors argue that if Korea aims to stand as a global leading state it must build a new global grand strategy and a fresh regional strategy toward Eurasia based on an accurate reading of the direction, speed and scope of systemic change.