Citation

Midford P. Pacific Focus 2008; 23(2): 189-211.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1976-5118.2008.00010.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The logic of the democratic peace suggests that as two democracies, Japan and South Korea should not have militarized conflicts between them, while mutual recognition of their democratic systems should have a corresponding mutual reassurance effect. On the other hand, historical memories of Japan's colonialization of Korea provide a basis for Koreans to mistrust Japan's disposition, if not its intentions. This article considers whether the 2006 Japanese–Korean dispute over maritime exploration near the disputed Dokdo/Takeshima was a militarized dispute, and whether Japan's status as a democracy has been sufficient to reassure South Korea that Japan does not pose a military threat. The results of this case study will shed light on the question of whether, and if so under what conditions, historically rooted mistrust might trump the causal variables underpinning the democratic peace.