서강대학교

목차

This thesis aims to examine the factors that have kept the ROK-US alliance intact through disruption and changing security environment on and around the Korean Peninsula. First of all, this paper examines alliance theories suitable for having a sound understanding of states’ alliance pattern. The theory itself may not be enough to understand states’ alliance pattern, but it, at least, lays the foundation for comprehending states’ pattern of behavior. The theories examined are realists and neo-realists’ theory which bases their analysis on balancing power and threat and an interest-based theory stressing both security and non-security interests. I designate each theory as a dominating and competing theory respectively and present the basic assumptions of each one. Next, by providing general ideas of each theory and tracking the transition of the fifty-year-old alliance, this paper presents which theory is more pertinent to explain the alliance. The main argument of this paper is that the ROK-US alliance could have been maintained since interests have bound them together even under changing security environment. That is, the survival of the partnership stems from the fact that the benefits of maintaining the alliance have been greater than the costs for both nations. This paper, thus, tests why an interest-based theory is more applicable to the ROK-US alliance by pointing out the problems with realists’ logic stressing only threat perception. In final chapter, this paper provides the rationale for continuous existence of alliance and then presents desirable future course of actions to keep the alliance intact under the assumption that shifting structure of the alliance is an irreversible trend befitting changing security environment.