International Relations Paradigms and the Korean War

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the Korean War through the lens of three of the major paradigms in international relations: realism, world society and theory of dependence. The paper shows how no one paradigm of international relations exactly fits all aspects of the Korean conflict. The paper explains how we must therefore consider a convergence of paradigms to fully understand this war.

Outline:
Introduction
The Primary Paradigms
The Korean War: A Realist Analysis
The Korean War: A Dependency Theory Analysis
The Korean War: World Society Theory
Analysis

From the Paper:

"There exist a number of different paradigms to explain the events of the Korean War. The theoretical model of Realism has long been one of dominant theories of international relations, although as a formal school of thought it has only existed since the Second World War. The primary assumptions of this theoretical model is that the global political system is fundamentally anarchic in that nation-states are effectively sovereign with no check on their actions other than from other nation-states. The relations between these states is predicated on their differential power levels - state power being understood in military and economic terms - with each state pursuing its own national security and other interests."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dos Santos, Theotonio. "The Structure of Dependence." InK.T. Fann and D.C. Hodges, eds. Readings in US Imperialism.Boston: Porter Sargent, 1971.
• Ferraro, Vincent. "Dependency Theory: An Introduction."Mount Holyoke College, MA, 1996. Accessed: April 21, 2007.http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/depend.htm
• Goncharov, Sergei, Lewis, John and Litai, Xue. Uncertain Partners:Stalin, Mao and the Korean War. Stanford: Stanford UniversityPress, 1993.
• Korean War. Wikipedia. Accessed: April 20, 2007.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
• Leys, Colin. The Rise and Fall of Dependency Theory. London: Currey, 1996.

More papers on International Relations Paradigms and the Korean War:

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• Term Paper # 94932 : "The U.S. and the Korean War"
• Analytical Essay # 110042 : "NSC-68 and its Influence on USA's Policy in the Korean War"

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