The Balance of Power in Korea, and Japan

This paper seeks to examine East Asia, particularly the situation surrounding North Korea, from the perspective of power politics. It specifically points out that a balance of power, the key concept in power politics, is an order that does not simply arise from maintaining a balance in military power but is in fact premised on a shared recognition among countries of “national interests” and “systemic interests”. It goes on to contrast the case of Europe, where the presence of these factors enabled power politics to take root, with the current situation in East Asia, which lacks these factors despite the seeming emergence of power politics in the region. The paper then explains the need for Japan – which at one point acted as if it had quickly mastered the balance of power, leading to misjudgments that culminated in tragedy – to consciously think and behave as a key actor in ways distinct from the past in forming a regional order encompassing the Korean peninsula.This essay was originally published on Kokusai Mondai [International Affairs], No.670, Apr. 2018.articl