• Author : Chiwon Choi
• Publisher : Journal of Parliamentary Research
• Publication : The Korea Parliamentary Research Institute
• Volume : 20(1)
• Date : June 2025

Abstract: Weber is never a homo academicus. He is a homo politicus whose facade is the homo academicus. Starting from his Vorschläge zur Reform der Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches(Proposals for Constitutional Reform of German Imperial) in the context of World War I, he reveals himself as a politician of will and passion who, with the perspective of cool reason of scholar, presents his position through public lectures, newspaper articles, and political consultations against the danger of censorship. In the context of constitutional reform and parliamentary democratization, which is the most acute political issues of the time, he develops his concept of responsibility as a quality of politicians who act with political power as a means. Through this, he tries to overcome the overall loss and helplessness of politics that are prevalent in the wartime situation and to restore the meaning and value of politics. In particular, he regards the revision or abolition of Paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Imperial Constitution as the starting point for the formation of Germany’s political will. In other words, by placing the weight of political responsibility on the parliament, he thinks, not only politics based on strong parliamentarism will be activated, but also a strong responsible cabinet that will handle armistice negotiations with the Allied Powers will be formed. The ideas contained in his political statements were never realized, but they nevertheless became an allegory for Politics as a Vocation. Today, Politics as a Vocation has become a kind of must-read for the general public, political experts and scholars, politicians etc. However few people know that the main issues contained in this work, especially the issue of responsibility as a quality of politicians, came from the context of constitutional reform and political reform raised by him in the wartime situation.

• Author : Chiwon Choi
• Publisher : Zeitschrift der Koreanisch-Deutschen Gesellschaft fuer Sozialwissenschaften
• Publication : Koreanisch-Deutsche Gesellschaft Fuer Sozialwissenschaften(K-G Association For Social Sciences)
• Volume : 35(2)
• Date : June 2025

Abstract: During World War I, Max Weber critically expresses his political position regarding the deformity of the German nation. Its core is the constitutional and political reform. For him, the reform is a demand of the times that has to be resolved in order to achieve parliamentary democracy, the expansion of parliamentary power, and the activation of parliamentary politics. Although he is not a politician with ethics of responsibility, he accepts this demand of the times as his life’s cause more firmly than any other politician and develops his position. His political position, beginning with Vorschläge zur Reform der Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches, continues through his journalistic activities, public lectures, and the publication of booklet. He accepts the historical reality of the Reichstag not being the highest legislative power due to the structural characteristics of German politics, looks for an alternative to the Reichstag and tries to make the Bundesrat as a bridgehead for parliamentary democracy and the expansion of parliamentary power. The point is that, first, politics that unilaterally humiliates Members of the Reichstag and turns them into lower-class people must disappear, second, the path to the political responsibility must be opened for parliamentary politicians. His position on constitutional reform and political reform is sharply revealed in his criticism of the three axes of power that are ideologically and materially blocking reform. In this way, his criticism is directed: at individual politician like the Kaiser; at the far-right conservative forces (linked to big capital) as supporters of the power of the Kaiser; at the conservative bureaucracy system. His political stance not only includes criticism of the political reality of his time, but also includes the dimension of future civic or political education. The intellectual clarity he as a scholar has, serves as a weapon for critiquing political reality. Even in a wartime situation characterized by the loss of politics, his way of grasping politics (as he has always done) in the context of concrete social, economic, and historical relationships without settling for the academic world concretely demonstrates the unique properties inherent in his political thought.

• Authors : Dong Sun Lee, Sangsoo Lim
• Publication : Korean Journal of International Studies
• Publisher : The Korean Association of International Studies
• Volume : 33(1)
• Date: April 2025

Abstract: This article examines the dynamic interplay between the international system and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, analyzing how unipolarity has shaped these conflicts and their broader impact on global structures. It argues that the United States’ liberal hegemonic strategy—driven by unipolar preponderance— exacerbated tensions, particularly through NATO’s expansion in Ukraine and unconditional support for Israel in Gaza. These policies intensified regional hostilities, prompting armed resistance from Russia and Hamas. Conversely, these wars have accelerated the decline of US-centered unipolarity, allowing China to rise as a superpower while Russia and India consolidate their positions as great powers. The article introduces “offshore leadership” as a pragmatic US strategy emphasizing maritime priorities in East Asia and strategic collaboration with allies to navigate an evolving security landscape. This approach departs from the traditional liberal hegemonic strategy by advocating realism, restraint, and a reassessment of US global commitments. The study underscores the importance of prioritizing East Asia in response to China’s rise while delegating responsibilities in other regions to local allies. It offers theoretical insights into how unipolarity fosters conflict and how wars reshape international systems, along with actionable policy recommendations for South Korea and the United States to manage emerging geopolitical challenges effectively.

• Author : Sangsoo Lim
• Publication : Journal of Asiatic Studies
• Publisher : Asiatic Research Institute
• Volume : 30(3)
• Date : December 2024

Abstract: Despite the significant impact of nationalism on interstate conflicts, many existing studies on military effectiveness, defined as a state’s ability to convert its resources into military power, have paid relatively little attention to its role in shaping military effectiveness. This paper aims to address this gap by asking the following question: what effects does nationalism have on a state’s military effectiveness? By analyzing the case of Japanese nationalism and its impact on the Russo-Japanese War, this paper argues that nationalism can enhance a state’s military effectiveness in two ways: 1) by providing a source of motivation for military personnel, 2) by contributing to logistic support through effective national mobilization of the public. The findings not only enrich the study on nationalism and state power but also provide valuable insights for South Korean decision-makers, showing how ongoing interstate conflicts around the world that may affect South Korea’s national interests could unfold and highlighting the need to work towards mitigating nationalistic sentiments in its neighboring states.

• Author : Chiwon Choi
• Publisher : Zeitschrift der Koreanisch-Deutschen Gesellschaft fuer Sozialwissenschaften
• Publication : Koreanisch-Deutsche Gesellschaft Fuer Sozialwissenschaften(K-G Association For Social Sciences)
• Volume : 34(4)
• Date : December 2024

Abstract: Arendt claimed to think without a banister. However, as is most clearly confirmed in The Human Condition(1958), she never thought without banisters. What she has thrown away is, however, only the banisters of modernity, not the those of antiquity and the Middle Ages. For her, the loss of tradition is virtually nonexistent or just an empty phrase, since she persistently emphasizes and attempts to restore ancient traditions and authority. This self-contradiction is the characteristic and essence of Arendt’s thinking. Above all, she does not touch at all on the principles of modern practical labor nor considers she critically the problem of private property right as Hegel and Marx did, but deals with ‘labor’ of modern society with banisters of antiquity. This is anachronistic. ‘Labor’, ‘work’ and ‘action’ are merely ideal types(Weber) as heuristic means for thinking about reality, but she is silent about this point. Her banisters, which oppose the modern ideas of Hegel and Marx, is heavily influenced by the legacy of German Historicism and Romanticism as the antipode to the Enlightenment. Her banisters, which are ideational, are supplemented by another powerful ones, the theological·moral logic of good and evil and the esthetic logic of beauty and ugliness. She arranges ‘labor’, ‘work’ and ‘action’ according to ‘the hierarchy of vita activa’ and uses all kinds of literary and poetic symbols, rhetoric, and imagination to blur her ideational banisters, making it difficult to see. The human condition is in this respect a product of literary imagination but spreads a kind of gospel about life. In other words, it retains elements of revelation and prophecy and appeals to Arendt’s believers. In conclusion, The Human Condition has enough value to be evaluated as a beautiful literary work as much as the metaphor of ‘thinking without a banister’, however, this does not mean that her banisters has disappeared or has been abandoned as she claims. Her claim that the banisters have been removed from the thinking herself is either a lie or lip service to deceive the reader. Rather, she shows a self-contradiction in that if there had been no ‘banisters,’ not only would she never have been able to think as she wanted, but her own thought itself would not have been established. All this is revealed in the structure and character of her banisters and in their intellectual origins.

• Author : Chiwon Choi
• Publication : Zeitschrift der Koreanisch-Deutschen Gesellschaft fuer Sozialwissenschaften
• Publisher : Koreanisch-Deutsche Gesellschaft Fuer Sozialwissenschaften(K-G Association For Social Sciences)
• Volume : 33(4)
• Date : December 2023

A ‘class-conscious bourgeois’ as citizen, Max Weber’s politics of civil society is a product of the political-practical attempt to overcome the crisis of Historismus. In the most comprehensive sense, it provides a new ‘Historie’ which corresponds to that of Marx and Nietzsche who are responsible for the crisis of Historismus. It internalizes methods of Marx and Nietzsche, which Historismus couldn’t provide. Above all, although Weber was a ‘child of the historical school,’ he accepts the critical problematique of Hegel and especially Marx: His concept of politics of civil society attempts to preserve the value and meaning of politics in respond to the demands of the times by requestinf a reexamination of the entire Bilder of the existing Historie. His unique ‘source’ of thoughts, which opens a new perspective on society and politics, has its specific content in his concept of politics of civil society. His concept is not related to the traditions of natural rights theory or social contract theory, which equated civil society with political society, nor should it be understood as the product of a naive political interpretation based on the religious ego or self and mentality. A concept of politics of civil society captured not only by moral ethics (voluntarism) based on the ego-idea of Parsonianized Weber but also by a creative individualism in the manner of Tocqueville and Mill, which furthermore is colored by Verba’s ‘civic culture’ and Putnam’s ‘social capital’, vulgarizes, simplifies and misleads Weber’s thoughts. In the academic and intellectual climate of the United States, such Parsonianized romantic version of politics of civil society may be possible. At best, such concept only results in the politics of civil society as Zivilgesellschaft, which has nothing to do with Weber. Weber, with his theoretical and practical cool-headedness, however, would not accept such naive and lax concept of politics of civil society as an ‘Americanized version of Romanticism’.

• Author : Jiil Kim
• Publication : Strategic Studies
• Publisher : Korea Research Institute for Strategy
• Volume : 30(3)
• Date : November 2023

What is the reason behind the unwavering commitment of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to expanding North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and resisting nuclear disarmament? To address the aforementioned research question, this study delves into the core psychological factors shaping Kim’s mindset and consequent behavioral patterns. Utilizing the documentary research method, this study endeavors to illuminate the research inquiries by employing the psychological framework of ‘historical trauma’ to dissect Kim Jong Un’s behavioral tendencies, which have manifested during denuclearization negotiations. The findings of this study reveal that Kim Jong Un bears a historical trauma inherited, through a process of ‘transference,’ from his grandfather Kim Il Sung, who initiated the Korean War. Specifically, Kim Jong Un’s historical trauma encompasses both ‘short-term war trauma’ and ‘alliance trauma.’ Within this context, the short-term trauma significantly contributes to Kim Jong Un’s reluctance to commit to denuclearization. Furthermore, these two forms of trauma have manifested as his deceptive maneuvers during denuclearization negotiations and his endeavors to undermine the military might of enemy alliances while persuading North Korea’s allies to align with his nation.

• Author : Sangsoo Lim
• Publication : Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies
• Publisher : Institute of Global Affairs
• Volume : 30(3)
• Date : September 2023

Abstract: Recent events including rapid nuclear modernization of North Korea and China and increasing fear of nuclear escalation in Ukraine have led to renewed attention to nuclear politics in East Asia. In this context, this paper aims to address one of the most distinguished concepts in nuclear politics and its relevance to East Asia’s security environment: the stability-instability paradox. Specifically, this paper seeks to address the two following questions. Is the stability-instability paradox applicable to the inter-Korean security environment? If so, by what mechanism will the stability-instability paradox work in the region? Through theoretical analysis and a case study on the bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, this paper yields two findings. First, while not yet fully applicable, the logic of the stability-instability paradox is increasingly becoming relevant in the inter-Korean security environment. Second, the stability-instability paradox in the region is likely to work through the mechanism of the ‘red-line model’, which entails relatively little danger of intentional nuclear escalation.

• Author : EunBi Lee, Seung Joon Paik
• Publication : National Strategy
• Publisher : The Sejong Institute
• Volume : 29(3)
• Date : August 2023

Abstract: This study examines the sudden deterioration of the Sino-ROK relationship following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January 2016. We argue that the unrealistic expectations the two countries’ top leaders had for one another contributed to the rift. While Seoul expected China to take harsh measures against North Korea to end its nuclear program, Beijing expected South Korea to align with China’s strategic interests and distance itself from its longtime ally, the U.S. Although these expectations had contributed to a period of positive relations between the two countries since 2013, they were at odds with the core security interests of the two countries and therefore were not sustainable. When the two failed to fulfill each other’s expectations after the North Korean nuclear test, policymakers in Seoul and Beijing felt betrayed and responded with punitive measures that significantly harmed their relationship. We conclude with policy recommendations for a more prudent approach to security cooperation based on common interests.