Moving beyond Hermit Kingdoms. Korea in Burma's foreign policy
Ładowanie...
Data wydania
2015
Autorzy
Tytuł czasopisma
ISSN
1733-2680
eISSN
Tytuł tomu
ISBN
eISBN
Wydawca
Oficyna Wydawnicza AFM
Abstrakt
This paper deals with the problem of the Burma-Korea relations. It starts from the intriguing fact
that both Burma and Korea, despite not having much in common, have been called the Hermit
Kingdoms. This paper asks whether this “hermit” similarity has had any effect on their relations and
what the place of Korea in Burma’s foreign policy has been. After describing the hermit heritage in
the Burmese and the Korean political cultures, this papers concludes that Korean issues have not
been central to the Burmese policy. They form an important, though a secondary, dimension. As for
the place of Korea(s) in Burma’s foreign policy, the answer is equally unimpressive. The political
relations between Burma and both Korean states have not been strategic. Two events attracted the
world’s attention to the Burmese-Korean relations – the assassination in Rangoon and Burma’s
nuclear affair with North Korea – but both turned out to be mere incidents. North Korea – Burma
relations stalled, or hibernated, after Burma started its reforms and opening up to the West in 2011.
For the same reasons of reforms, however, Burma has become even more interesting for South Korea.
Myanmar may become a place for massive South Korean investments soon. It is the economic
dominance of South Korea that makes the Burma-Korea relations asymmetric. It’s a “normalized
asymmetry”, however, one where both sides are confi dent of fulfi lling their basic interests and
expectations of mutual benefi ts. This “normalized asymmetry” makes the Burma-South Korea relations
bound to develop in the future.
Opis
Tematy
Słowa kluczowe
Źródło
Krakowskie Studia Międzynarodowe 2015, nr 3 s. 161-176.