Dividing the Korean Peninsula : the rhetoric of the George W. Bush administration
This paper suggests that an examination of the discourse and rhetoric of the George W. Bush administration offers a more comprehensive understanding of the developments that occurred during the years of South Korea’s Sunshine policy (1998-2008). Such an approach supplements the...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/95322 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/9119 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This paper suggests that an examination of the discourse and rhetoric of the George W.
Bush administration offers a more comprehensive understanding of the developments that
occurred during the years of South Korea’s Sunshine policy (1998-2008). Such an approach
supplements the traditional neorealist perspective and helps to account for the direction of
certain policies. The paper argues that in its inter-Korean discourse, the Bush administration
framed South Korea as an ally and partner against North Korea, while imagining the North as
part of the “axis of evil” and a threat to international security. Since the US occupies an
essential role in inter-Korean affairs, its framing of North and South Korea as unalterable
opposites impeded inter-Korean reconciliation under the Sunshine policy. Rhetoric from two
events will illustrate this point – the 2001 US-South Korea summit and the 2004 US
Presidential Elections campaign. |
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