ABSTRACT
In Chapter 15, Yol Sohn makes an interesting discussion of South Korea’s middle power diplomacy. Seoul’s search for a new identity as a middle power emerged as the country successfully navigated the dual transition from developing to developed economy and from authoritarian to democratic polity. Responding to the call for a proactive foreign policy that broadens its strategic space and extends the range of issue areas, government leaders have utilized South Korea’s positional advantage in the international network structure and capitalized on its connectivity by leveraging either convening power or bridging (brokerage) power. Its distinctive role in regional and global politics has been played with varying degrees of success. South Korea leverages its middle power role effectively in various issue areas like the regional and global economy where power and influence are diffused to many state and non-state actors, while facing difficulty in convening and bridging on regional security issues.
