Survival Through Internal Balancing in a Bipolar Environment: An Analysis of North Korea’s Missile Test as a Means of Projecting Balancing Power

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Mearsheimer argued that in a bipolar world, a state’s option is to balance the threat externally. However, for states that are threatened by both great powers, the best course of action is internal balancing (self-strengthening) to maximize its self-interest between the great powers. North Korea’s geographical position presents an interesting example of a weaker state surrounded by great powers: China and the United States. North Korea’s acquisition of missiles and WMDs are a form of internal balancing. By understanding when North Korea tests its missiles, it is possible to observe when a state utilizes its success at internal balancing as a mechanism to pressure the great powers. This paper reports that North Korea is more likely to conduct missile tests when its relationships with the United States and China, independently, are weak. I propose that North Korea’s missiles acted as an internal balancing instrument; that missile tests are a method of projecting its success at self-strengthening to signal and instigate a change from the great powers during times of a corroding relationship.

Type of resource	text
Date created	June 2020

Author	Choi, Min Jae
Primary advisor	Shin, Giwook
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Stanford Global Studies, Center for East Asian Studies

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/ct920gy1980

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred Citation: Choi, Min Jae. (2020). Survival Through Internal Balancing in a Bipolar Environment: An Analysis of North Korea’s Missile Test as a Means of Projecting Balancing Power. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/ct920gy1980

Stanford Center for East Asian Studies Thesis Collection

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