ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

Constructivism has established itself as one of the most prominent paradigms of international relations theory. With its distinctive theoretical perspective on most fundamental aspects of international relations using concepts such as identity, mutual construction of agent and structure, constructivism has developed various middle-range theories concerning national security, foreign policy making, and international institutions. This article tries to discuss and evaluate constructivist contribution to the issue of national security by exploring how constructivism criticizes and complements existing neorealist discussion of national security. Using multi-level approach from the levels of meta-theory, conceptual frameworks, to that of empirical analysis, this article argues that; 1) constuctivism offers a better understanding of national security when combined with neorealist analysis; 2) constructivism retains metatheoretical commensurability with classical realism; 3) constructivism aborates neorealist central concepts such as security dilemma, balance of power, and security institutions. This discussion leadsus to the conclusion that constructivism is useful in the analysis of security environments of South Korea, and also in policy suggestions with regard to lessening security dilemma in inter-Korea relations, constructing a better balance of power in the Northeast Asia region, and promoting intraand inter-regional cooperation based on international institutions such as ASEAN and ASEM.