Conclusion

Abstract

This book examined three important periods in US-Korean relations focusing on the dynamic of policy making underscored by realist thinkers in international relations. While doing this, each case history also presented a detailed narrative account about how and why US diplomacy and strategy toward Korea and Northeast Asia changed over time. The answers to salient historical questions were already offered in each Part, thus, in this final conclusion, I discuss the relevance of my hypotheses in explaining the more recent US commitment toward Korea and its implications about US-Korean alliance in the twenty-first century.