Premium
Ties That Bind? Assessing the Impact of Economic Interdependence on East Asian Alliances *
Author(s) -
Lee Dong Sun,
Kim Sung Eun
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
pacific focus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.172
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1976-5118
pISSN - 1225-4657
DOI - 10.1111/j.1976-5118.2011.01063.x
Subject(s) - alliance , east asia , argument (complex analysis) , economic interdependence , group cohesiveness , empirical evidence , quarter (canadian coin) , international trade , affect (linguistics) , economics , political science , development economics , international economics , sociology , politics , geography , china , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , communication , law
This article investigates how commercial ties affect the cohesiveness of US alliances with East Asian nations. While the conventional wisdom views their effects as positive, we argue that economic interdependence does not markedly reinforce East Asian alliances because the alliances have an asymmetrical structure. To evaluate these competing arguments, we examine the impact of bilateral trade on the US alliances with Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and South Korea, over the past quarter‐century. Our empirical analysis provides little evidence for the conventional view, while supporting our argument. Based on this finding, the article offers some practical implications for the free trade agreement and the security alliance between South Korea and the USA.