PERCEPTIONSJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS US Foreign Policy towards Northeast Asia Joel R. CAMPBELL Japan’s Security Policy towards East Asia Kaseda YOSHINORI Russia’s East Asia Policy: New Opportunities and Challenges Anna KIREEVA Recent Political Developments in Taiwan: Facing Beijing and Washington Wan-Chin TAI Security Conditions and Regional Competition in East Asia: A South Korean Perspective Chong Jin OH Turkey’s East Asian Policy: From Security Concerns to Trade Partnership Selçuk ÇOLAKOĞLU Turkey’s Search for a “New” Subjectivity in World Politics and US- Turkish Relations Ali ASLAN Turkish Foreign Policy and the KRG Marianna CHAROUNTAKI Afghanistan: Human Cost of Armed Conflict since the Soviet Invasion Imtiyaz Gul KHAN Book Reviews Winter2012 Volume XVII - Number 4 ISSN 1300-8641 PERCEPTIONS Editor in Chief Bülent Aras Deputy Editors Şaban Kardaş • Mesut Özcan • Murat Yeşiltaş Book Review Editor Şule Toktaş Managing Editor Engin Karaca International Advisory Board Nuri Yurdusev Middle East Technical University Fuat Keyman Sabancı University Talip Küçükcan Marmara University Ayşe Kadıoğlu Sabancı University Mustafa Kibaroğlu Okan University Pınar Bilgin Bilkent University Burhanettin Duran Istanbul Şehir University Selçuk Çolakoğlu Yıldırım Beyazıt University Tuncay Kardaş Sakarya University Oktay Tanrısever Middle East Technical University Şaban Kardaş TOBB-ETU Mesut Özcan Center for Strategic Research Homepage: http://www.sam.gov.tr The Center for Strategic Research (Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi- SAM) conducts research on Turkish foreign policy, regional studies and international relations, and makes scholarly and scientific assessments of relevant issues. It is a consultative body of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs providing strategic insights, independent data and analysis to decision makers in government. As a nonprofit organization, SAM is chartered by law and has been active since May 1995. SAM publishes Perceptions, an English language journal on foreign affairs. The content of the journal ranges from security and democracy to conflict resolutions, and international challenges and opportunities. Perceptions is a quarterly journal prepared by a large network of affiliated scholars. PERCEPTIONS is a peer-reviewed journal and is included in the following databases and indexes: CSA Index, Current Contents of Periodicals on the Middle East, EBSCO, Index Islamicus, International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA), Lancaster Index to Defense & International Security Literature, PAIS Index, Pro Quest, Turkish Academic Network and Information Center (TÜBİTAK - ULAKBIM). To subscribe, write to the Center for Strategic Research, Dr. Sadık Ahmet Caddesi No: 8, Balgat / 06100 Ankara - TURKEY Phone: (+90 312) 292 40 76 - 292 22 30 Fax: (+90 312) 253 42 03 e-mail: [email protected] Printed in Ankara by: AFŞAROĞLU MATBAASI ISSN 1300-8641 PERCEPTIONSJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Winter 2012 Volume XVII Number 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Editorial US Foreign Policy towards Northeast Asia 3 Joel R. CAMPBELL Japan’s Security Policy towards East Asia 27 Kaseda YOSHINORI Russia’s East Asia Policy: New Opportunities 49 and Challenges Anna KIREEVA Recent Political Developments in Taiwan: 79 Facing Beijing and Washington Wan-Chin TAI Security Conditions and Regional 105 Competition in East Asia after the New Millennium: A South Korean Perspective Chong Jin OH Turkey’s East Asian Policy: From Security 129 Concerns to Trade Partnership Selçuk ÇOLAKOĞLU The Foreign Policy- Hegemony Nexus: 159 Turkey’s Search for a “New” Subjectivity in World Politics and Its Implications for US- Turkish Relations Ali ASLAN Turkish Foreign Policy and the Kurdistan 185 Regional Government Marianna CHAROUNTAKI Afghanistan: Human Cost of Armed Conflict 209 since the Soviet Invasion Imtiyaz Gul KHAN Book Reviews 225 PERCEPTIONS - Winter 2012 Editorial Perceptions continues to publish the author identifies a transformation special issues on subjects and debates in from the reintegration of China into the international relations, and this issue and global political economy to increased the next will focus on the international tensions, especially in strategic and politics of East Asia. Member of our economic issue areas, and also from Editorial Board Selçuk Çolakoğlu, America’s unofficial relationship with managing editor Engin Karaca and I, Taiwan. Kaseda Yoshinori discusses have worked closely to collect valuable Japan’s realist foreign policy towards analyses on different dimensions of this East Asia and looks at how Japan is topic. East Asia is at the centre of the strengthening its own missile capability, scholarly debate and occupies a great enhancing its alliance, and building new deal of policy makers’ time in different security ties with states that have similar parts of the globe. The US’s Asia pivot security concerns. policy is a visible example of the policy Anna Kireeva discusses Russia’s interest in the region. The scholarly relations with China, examining how debate examines intra-regional relations relations both relate to creating a new and relations with outside actors. There axis of power in the region and to Russia’s is also a new debate on the role of East policy in its own East Asian region. Asia in a new multilateral world order. Kireeva argues that ASEAN’s desire to We will touch upon almost all of these welcome Russia as a balancer in the region topics in these two special issues on East which provides new opportunities for Asia. The geographical distribution of Russia to intensify its cooperation with the contributors is also representative of East Asian countries. Considering the the subjects of these special issues. This recent political developments in Taiwan, first issue consists of six articles on the including the development of a weaker international politics of East Asia. Based ruling party, Wan-Chin Tai discusses on the historical evolution of the US the major issues concerning Taiwan’s becoming a major player in the Pacific relations with the United States, Japan region, Joel Campbell discusses the US’s and China. Chong Jin Oh discusses relations with the Asian countries of how the North Korean nuclear problem, Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan. the revision of the South Korean-US Concerning Sino-American relations, alliance, Japanese militarisation, and the 1 PERCEPTIONS, Winter 2012, Volume XVII, Number 4, pp. 1-2. rise of China have overshadowed South Regional Government (KRG). On Korea’s emergence as an international Afghanistan, Imtiyaz Gul Khan presents player. Selçuk Çolakoğlu discusses the a comprehensive record of the impact main determinants of Turkey’s foreign of the conflicts on the country’s human policy towards East Asia with a focus on capital from the Soviet occupation up security concerns and economic interests, to the US invasion. Khan also examines examining Turkish-East Asian relations how civilians have been affected from in four historical periods, highlighting US and NATO operations. the basic characteristics of relations in each period. The Center for Strategic Research (SAM) organises conferences, expert In addition to the articles focusing meetings and lectures with the on East Asia, there are two on Turkish participation of academics, experts and foreign policy and one on Afghanistan. policy makers. SAM also publishes two Ali Aslan uses post- foundational/post- other series, namely Vision Papers and structural analytical tools to study the SAM Papers. Vision Papers present nexus between hegemony and foreign primary information on Turkish foreign policy in his article. He examines the policy through the writings of Turkish transformation in Turkish-American Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet relations in the two main periods since the AK Party came to power: the era Davutoğlu. SAM Papers present high- of a “lack of understanding” between quality analysis by academics and policy the years 2002 and 2006, and the era makers. These publications and activities after the parties had come to a “new are accessible on our website, sam.gov.tr understanding” in 2006. Marianna Stay tuned for more! Charountaki discusses the increasing importance of northern Iraq in regional politics and examines Turkey’s recent Bülent ARAS foreign policy towards the Kurdistan Editor-in-Chief 2 US Foreign Policy towards Northeast Asia Joel R. CAMPBELL* Abstract Key Words Since the mid-19th century, the US has Japanese-American relations, Japanese- been a Pacific power. Through three wars American alliance, Korean-American and the Cold War, America became a major regional player. Modern Japanese-American relations, North Korea, Sino-American relations were shaped by the Cold War, and relations, Taiwan Strait issue. a strong political-military alliance served the geopolitical needs of both countries. As Japan’s economy matured and its politics transformed Introduction in the 1990s, Tokyo sought greater political independence, and used an upgrading of the The date 7 December 2011 was the alliance as part of its effort to achieve the more 70th anniversary of the surprise Japanese “normal” status as a great power. US relations with South Korea have been driven by a shared air attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. perception of threat from North Korea. Since That “day of infamy” long ago not only the Cold War, the nature of this threat has brought America into a global war, but shifted from immediate concern about conflict propelled the US towards becoming the to danger from an essentially failed state. Sino- American