National Security and Development as Strategic Priorities of the Republic of Korea and Japan

80
DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2021-65-8-41-50
A. Fedorovsky (a.fedorovsk@imemo.ru),
Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation;
V. Shvydko (shvydko@imemo.ru),
Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation

Received 27.03.2021.

Acknowledgements. This paper was written as part of the research project “Post-Crisis World Order: Challenges and Technologies, Competition and Cooperation” under the grant of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for conducting major scientific projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement No. 075-15-2020-783).


Abstract. The article explores new policies related to security and economic development as represented by the cases of the Republic of Korea and Japan. It assesses combination of old and new internal and external challenges to security, economic development, and social stability, noting the increased interplay of factors affecting national security and innovative growth. The latter is increasingly viewed as an indispensable condition for military, political and social security of a nation, for effectively responding to external pressures as well as to ecological, epidemiological and technology-related risks. Rising technological capabilities in the two Northeast Asian nations contribute to their international ambitions. The authors analyze the tendency in the Republic of Korea to pursue a more independent foreign policy as a “middle power”, and Japan’s growing international and military profile in the Asia Pacific. The risks and possible future consequences of this trend are explored and assessed. The authors identify the priorities of the Republic of Korea’s development strategy within the framework of the “Korean New Deal”, and a new vision of the future of Japan as presented in the strategic documents of its government. They note greater aspirations of the two nations to increase their competitive edge in the regional and global race to reach and retain leading positions in the international hierarchy of economic and political power. New tools to ensure this edge are being tested by South Korean and Japanese governments, as old instruments of industrial policy seem to be losing strength and produce little effect.

Keywords: Republic of Korea, Japan, China, USA, foreign policy and defense strategy, development strategy, innovative growth, “Korean New Deal”


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For citation:
Fedorovsky A., Shvydko V. National Security and Development as Strategic Priorities of the Republic of Korea and Japan. World Eñonomy and International Relations, 2021, vol. 65, no. 8, pp. 41-50. https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2021-65-8-41-50



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