The End of an Alliance: A Historical Analysis of ROK-ROC Diplomatic Relations, 1972-92

This study investigates why South Korea (ROK) held on to its diplomatic alliance with Taiwan (ROC) from 1972 to 1992. The rise of China (PRC) as a regional superpower, Taiwan's expulsion from the United Nations in 1971, and the Shanghai Communiqué in 1972 prompted almost all major countries around the world to derecognize Taiwan's diplomatic status in the 1970s. However, South Korea remained Taiwan's diplomatic ally until the early 1990s. Past literature mainly consults Waltzian realism to evaluate ROK-ROC alliance, but it often fails to answer how and why the alliance managed to survive throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. This study therefore performs a historical analysis using the two-level game and path dependency frameworks to discuss historical, political, domestic, and international factors that have influenced the course of ROK-ROC relations. It concludes that the persistent imbalance between South Korea's ideational rationale for anti-communist legitimacy and practical rationale for ROK-PRC normalization explains the counterintuitive survival of ROK-ROC alliance from 1972 to 1992.

    Item Description
    Name(s)
    Author: Choi, Ki
    Thesis advisor: Cho, Joan
    Date
    April 15, 2017
    Extent
    120 pages
    Language
    eng
    Genre
    Physical Form
    electronic
    Rights and Use
    In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted
    Restrictions on Use
    Access restricted indefinitely. Please contact wesscholar@wesleyan.edu for more information.
    Digital Collection
    PID
    ir:467