Search

In an era in which the Bush administration?s plea for spreading democracy has been a cornerstone of American security strategy, the security repercussions of democratic consolidation in general and its impact on regional security dynamics in particular have been regrettably understudied. Numerous politicians, including President George W. Bush, have simply touted the East Asian experiences in democracy as a model for a democratic Middle East. Upon closer observation, the story is not only far more complicated but also alarmingly dangerous: Contrary to the ?democratic peace? thesis, democratic consolidation has recently become a source of instability in East Asia. The East Asian case is also interesting because contrary to Edward Mansfield and Jack Snyder?s thesis that democratizing countries are prone to instability, it is not the early transition period but the consolidation of democratization that appears to be fodder for regional tension. Based on a comparative analysis of recent developments in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, this paper examines the impact of the deepening of democratization in East Asia on regional security dynamics. More specifically, democratic consolidation in East Asia has opened up a dynamic, interactive process in which foreign policy orientation in each country becomes more conflictual, as manifest in Taiwan?s aggressive push for de jure independence, South Korea?s increasing anti-American and anti-Japanese sentiments, and Japan?s growing assertiveness in its regional diplomacy. As such, instead of unproblematically accepting democratization as a panacea for regional stability, we need to explore the regional context in which democratic processes affect domestic security dynamics in ways that may worsen patterns of regional interaction. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]