Joint U.S.-Korea Academic Studies 2015

The four papers in Section 1 compare hedging behavior in countries on the frontline between the rising power China and the reigning hegemon, the United States. The first paper by one of the authors of this introduction, Cheng-Chwee Kuik, elaborates on the framework introduced here and applies it to the behavior of the Southeast Asian core states of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The second paper by Daniel Twining examines the hugely important case of India, weighing the recent moves by Prime Minister Modi that lean toward heavy hedging. Third, Malcolm Cook assesses Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s policies between the extremes of bandwagoning and balancing. Finally, Park Jin takes a close look at President Park Geun-hye’s hedging. This sweep across the Indo-Pacific region from South Korea through Southeast Asia to Australia and finally to India makes possible wide-ranging comparisons of states facing similar geopolitical challenges despite differing local circumstances. Omitted are the extreme cases of Japan and the Philippines (and to some extent Vietnam), subject to greater pressure from China as they search for a way to balance it, and Cambodia and Laos, the most dependent on China and more inclined to bandwagon with it. Our choices are meant to cast the most light on light vs. heavy hedging, not on bandwagoning and balancing.