IIA Pacific Report
(February 2025 No.23) IIA Pacific Report
Author
admiia
Date
2025-02-13
Views
798
The Institute of International Affairs has released the new Pacific Report No. 23.
In this issue, Professor Taesuh Cha of Sungkyunkwan University contributed an article titled <The Evolution of the Trump Doctrine: America's Retreat from Its Global Role and the Resurgence of Great Power Politics>.
Professor Cha explains that what stands out most in the early days of Trump’s second term is the striking reemergence of a 19th-century imperialist or great power identity.
While the United States will broadly pursue a grand strategy of offshore balancing (reflecting its isolationist tendencies), it will also overtly consolidate its sphere of influence (demonstrating expansionist ambitions).
Professor Cha comments that with the fundamental premise of South Korea’s post-Cold War grand strategy—the U.S.-led liberal world order—now collapsing, blindly adhering to past diplomatic principles out of inertia risks repeating the mistake of carving a mark on the boat to find a lost sword (각주구검) — an outdated approach in a radically shifting geopolitical landscape.
In this issue, Professor Taesuh Cha of Sungkyunkwan University contributed an article titled <The Evolution of the Trump Doctrine: America's Retreat from Its Global Role and the Resurgence of Great Power Politics>.
Professor Cha explains that what stands out most in the early days of Trump’s second term is the striking reemergence of a 19th-century imperialist or great power identity.
While the United States will broadly pursue a grand strategy of offshore balancing (reflecting its isolationist tendencies), it will also overtly consolidate its sphere of influence (demonstrating expansionist ambitions).
Professor Cha comments that with the fundamental premise of South Korea’s post-Cold War grand strategy—the U.S.-led liberal world order—now collapsing, blindly adhering to past diplomatic principles out of inertia risks repeating the mistake of carving a mark on the boat to find a lost sword (각주구검) — an outdated approach in a radically shifting geopolitical landscape.
