Ships, security, and symbols: A constructivist explanation of South Korea's naval build-up.

摘要

My project asks what brought about a South Korea’s naval construction drive called the “Blue Water Navy (BWN)” initiative, and how the initiative lasted for an extended period (1995-2010). During the BWN period, South Korea saw an unprecedented growth of the size and capability of the navy. I test plausible explanations that build on different perspectives including the realist model, the bureaucratic/organizational politics model, the domestic politics model, and the sociological institutionalist (SI) model. Relying on the SI model as the main analytic framework, I offer a constructivist explanation of the origin and continuation of the BWN initiative. At the same time, I take an eclectic position in that I understand that there is no single factor that can provide explanations for the phenomena. I employ process tracing, content analysis (of speeches and statements made by political leaders and newspapers), elite interviews (including former top security advisers to presidents, former ministers of government organizations, naval leaders, Professors, and representatives of civic organizations), and a public survey.;I argue that the BWN initiative came along as the Republic of Korea (ROK) navy was defining the organizational identity and the way it serves the nation. Previously, the ROK navy was considered a ‘fast-boat navy’ whose primary role was to defend South Korea’s coasts from North Korean infiltrations. This view about the role of the navy started to change as the navy defined promoting national interest and international standing as part of the organizational essence in the 1980s. Particularly, naval leaders became vocal about the necessity for the navy to play a leading role in defending and representing national interest in and outside the East Asian region. Concurrently, the South Korean people increasingly viewed their nation as a sovereign, legitimate, and equal member of the international community in the 1990s. This internationally oriented image of South Korea represented a departure from the old national identity that was defined in terms of rivalry with North Korea. I argue that the BWN initiative well resonated among political leaders and the people mainly because people shared the new image or identity of their nation, and they associated it with the meanings of the blue water navy.