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Hedging Strategies of the Middle Powers in East Asian Security: the Cases of South Korea and Malaysia

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Abstract

Many middle powers in East Asia—particularly South Korea and Malaysia—are affected by the strategic relationship between the USA (hereafter the USA) and China. Therefore, I would like to examine the strategic behaviors of the middle powers in East Asia from a hedging strategy perspective. The hedging strategy extends the logic of the traditional balance of power theory while maintaining a strong emphasis on structural incentives, which critics have found lacking in the soft balance approach. Most East Asian states have calibrated their security measures and strategies in response to the changing US-China relationship. The purpose of this article is to compare the hedging strategies of South Korea and Malaysia, which are middle powers, that affect the East Asian security order. This article, thus, aims not simply to explain specific instances of the hedging strategies of middle powers but also, based on this theoretical foundation, to establish a new frame of analysis for the hedging strategies of middle powers through objective and critical assessment.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Hee-ok Lee, Virginia Greiman, Anthony Celso, and Harshit Lakra for the discussions on an earlier draft. The author would also like to especially thank Wooyeal Paik for his insightful comments and suggestions.

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Correspondence to Ji yun Lee.

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Lee, J.y. Hedging Strategies of the Middle Powers in East Asian Security: the Cases of South Korea and Malaysia. East Asia 34, 23–37 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-016-9264-8

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