BOOK PROPOSAL. Korea-Russian Relations in the Changing World: Trends, Challenges, and Ways Forward

Korea-Russian relations can be most effective when they are grounded on the complementarity of interests, which in turn requires a mutual understanding of domestic normative and institutional conditions in both countries. Russian various initiatives with South Korea, ranging from the promotion of investment in the Russian Far East and LNG exports to collaborative education programs and cultural exchanges, can be effective and efficient only if they are designed and implemented in light of South Korea’s domestic conditions, including social norms, governmental structures, and policy agenda. Similarly, South Korea’s success in nurturing productive relationships with Russia will require an appreciation of Russian domestic settings. Contributions to this section examine existing and emerging areas of cooperation between South Korea and Russia, identifying key priorities, challenges, and opportunities.

China today already challenges the leadership of the United States that has kept the Asia-Pacific region peaceful and secure for many decades. There are real and growing risks that Washington and Beijing will not be able to find a way to work together peacefully as relative power shifts from one to the other. Amidst this background, South Korea and Russia develop new foreign policy strategies in the Asia-Pacific region which accommodates China’s power without conceding more than is necessary to keep friendly relations with it. At the same time, both states prepare for the possibility that Asia-Pacific will become a more contested and dangerous place over the coming decades, and consider what their options would be. In addition, as South Korea attempts to navigate the great power competition surrounding North Korea, its relations with Russia gain new strategic importance. Contributions to this section analyze strategic interactions between Russia and South Korea in the context of the changing regional dynamics over the past two decades. Contributors discuss the impact of the US-China strategic competition on Russia’s and South Korea’s foreign policy, provide new perspectives on the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, and examine Russia’s role in nuclear politics and peace processes on the Korean Peninsula.

 The ongoing reshaping of the international order provides both South Korea and Russia with the impetus to rediscover their traditional roles. While Russia is reframing and adjusting its great power ambitions, South Korea embraces the role of a middle power that is a vehicle for global projects in a variety of niches. Public diplomacy and national (re)branding are an integral part of role articulation for both South Korea and Russia. To explore the complex and dynamic process of role-articulation, this section examines soft power as a normative and operational construct in the Russian and South Korean political context. It also examines discourses on soft power and the efforts of the Kremlin and the Blue House to devise public diplomacy programs for its implementation.

Drawing on Russia’s and South Korea’s experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, this section examines challenges that are not only critical to the realization of the Asian century but are of fundamental importance for global sustainable and stable development.

Deadline to submit your chapter proposal 

Proposal acceptance notification

Deadline to submit a first draft of your chapter 

Internal review of drafts

Return of feedback on first drafts and acceptance notifications

Deadline to submit your revised chapter

Internal review of revised chapters

Return of feedback on revisions 

Deadline to submit your final draft

- Address an aspect of Korea-Russian relations (if you would like to propose a chapter that focuses only on either Korea or Russia, please consult with the editors in advance);

- Proposals should be between 300-500 words;

- Individual chapters should be anywhere between 7,500 and 10,000 words (including references);

- The analysis needs to be theoretically and empirically sound and, ideally, should bring out some novelty on the topic under scrutiny. The theoretical approach is the choice of each contributor;

- Each chapter must include a literature review that situates it within the existing body of knowledge (500-1000 words);

- Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa).

- You may choose to submit your manuscript as a single MS Word file to be used in the refereeing process and use whatever reference style you prefer. Only when your chapter is at the final revision stage, will you be requested to put your chapter into a “correct format” and provide the items required by the publisher (e.g., illustrations and tables in separate editable files).