Seminar Series: Abstract

Post-field work seminar - Foreign Policy-making in Vietnam and South Korea: Focusing on Normalizing Relations from mid-1980s to 1992
Yoonji Kim - PhD Candidate, Department of Political and Social Change, ANU

This research aims to examine and to compare the foreign policy decision-making process in Vietnam and South Korea and to investigate how relations between two countries were normalized, from the commencement of direct trade in the mid-1980s, to the signing of a treaty of amity in 1992. When Vietnam and South Korea normalized, both nations were in a transitional era. Along with the end of the Cold War, two states underwent domestic changes pursuing the 'doi moi' (reform) in Vietnam and the 'Nordpolitk' (Northern Policy) and 'democratisation' in South Korea. I claim that the foreign policy-making process in both countries was greatly affected by domestic factors as well as by external factors. This research will contribute to the understanding of not only the foreign policy-making process and the role of key players in the normalization between South Korea and Vietnam, but also the intricate nature of foreign policy decision-making during that particular transitional period under Roh Tae Woo's leadership in South Korea and the new leadership since doi moi in Vietnam. Yoon-Ji Kim has returned from her two-year fieldwork in South Korea and Vietnam. Her main interest is foreign policy-making process in Vietnam and South Korea especially in small states' aspect.