[Citizen College Season 6] #1 Great Power Politics and the War in Ukraine: Implications for the International Order

On October 13, 2022, the Peace and Democracy Institute and the Seongbuk District Office opened Citizen College Season 6  “Politics in Everyday Life.” Professor Shin Wha Lee from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at  Korea University presented the first lecture titled “Great Power Politics and Russia-Ukraine War: Implications for the International Order.”

The lecture addressed the rapid changes  in the international order in the twenty-first century as well as the future diplomatic and security plans that Korea should pursue. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the COVID-19 pandemic shock, and US-China strategic rivalry have all contributed to uncertainty and instability in the current international order, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is raising a host of security concerns involving both traditional and non-traditional security. The bottom line is that the current liberal international order, which the United States has upheld, is in crisis, and rivalry between the major powers led by the United States, China, and Russia is intensifying. In this context, Professor Lee discussed the direction of Korean grand strategy, focusing on the expansion of minilateralism in a preparation for the age of “technopolitics” and “geotechonology.”