Quan hệ đối tác hợp tác chiến lược Hàn Quốc – Việt Nam và định hướng trong bối cảnh thay đổi quản trị toàn cầu trong thế kỷ 21

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

MINISTRY OF

AND TRAINING

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM
-----------------------------------

PARK NOH WAN

REPUBLIC OF KOREA-VIETNAM
STRATEGIC COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP
AND THE WAY FORWARD IN THE NEW CONTEXT OF
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE CHANGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
MAJOR: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

INDEX NUMBER: 62310206

HANOI – 2014


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

MINISTRY OF

AND TRAINING

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM
-----------------------------------

PARK NOH WAN

REPUBLIC OF KOREA-VIETNAM
STRATEGIC COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP
AND THE WAY FORWARD IN THE NEW CONTEXT OF
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE CHANGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Major

: International Relations

Index number

: 62310206

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

SUPERVISOR: ASSOC.PROF.DR. NGUYEN THAI YEN HUONG

HANOI – 2014


AFFIRMATION

I affirm that this doctoral dissertation is the outcome of my own
research and study. All the statistics and figures included in the dissertation
are authentic and precise. All the findings have never been published in any
other research study.

AUTHOR

PARK NOH WAN


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards my supervisor
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thai Yen Huong for her instruction, support and
encouragement during my research process.
My sincere thanks are also due to teachers and staff at the Faculty of
Post Graduate Study, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, for offering me the
most favorable conditions to complete my dissertation.
Finally, I am grateful to all my family members, friends and colleagues
for their support and encouragement.
Hanoi, April 2014
Author
Park Noh Wan


TABLE OF CONTENTS
AFFIRMATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LIST OF ACRONYMS
LIST OF FIGURES
PREFACE ........................................................................................................ 1

CHAPTER 1: GLOBAL GOVERNANCE CHANGES AND THEIR
CHARACTERISTICS .................................................................................. 14
1.1. Global Governance: Definition and Framework ............................ 14
1.1.1. Global Governance: Definition and Analytical Usefulness of the
Concept ................................................................................................... 14
1.1.2. Global Governance: Transition and Structure .............................. 16
1.2. Governance Structure Changes and Their Characteristics ........... 19
1.2.1. Structural Change Background: The End of the Cold War .......... 19
1.2.2. Characteristics of Recent Global Governance Change ................. 20
1.2.2.1. Transition into Multi-Polar System: Declining US and Rising
China ................................................................................................... 20
1.2.2.2. Strengthening Regionalism: Expansion of Economic Blocks 24
1.2.2.3. Global Issues and Limitation of UN and G8 Roles ............... 27
1.3. Global Governance: Reshaping and Prospects ............................... 30
1.3.1. Possibility of Reshaping Global Governance ............................... 30
1.3.2. Reshaping Prospects of Global Governance ................................. 32
1.4. Regional Governance Change in East Asia ..................................... 34


1.4.1. General Overview ......................................................................... 34
1.4.2. Northeast Asia: Regional Cooperation and Change ..................... 35
1.4.3. Southeast Asia: Regional Cooperation and Change ..................... 37
1.5. Remarks .............................................................................................. 40
CHAPTER 2: ROK AND VIETNAM: POLICY RESPONSES TO
GLOBAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNANCE CHANGE SINCE 1991 . 43
2.1. ROK and Vietnam: Responses to Global Governance Change ..... 43
2.1.1. Why it was Necessary for ROK and Vietnam to Respond ........... 43
2.1.2. ROK‟s Policy Responses .............................................................. 44
2.1.3. Vietnam‟s Policy Responses ......................................................... 48
2.2. Responses to the Global Economic Crisis on the Part of ROK and

Vietnam ...................................................................................................... 52
2.2.1. Global Economic Crises and its Structural Trends ....................... 52
2.2.2. Policy Responses: ROK and Vietnam .......................................... 54
2.3. Responses to Regional Governance Change: ROK and Vietnam . 58
2.3.1. Rising China and Regional Governance Change .......................... 58
2.3.2. Responses of ROK and Vietnam to Regional Governance
Change..................................................................................................... 63
2.4. Remarks .............................................................................................. 67
CHAPTER 3: ROK-VIETNAM BILATERAL RELATIONS AND WAYS
FORWARD IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL AND GLOBAL
GOVERNANCE CHANGE IN THE 21st CENTURY ............................... 71
3.1. Overview of ROK-Vietnam Bilateral Relations .............................. 71
3.1.1. ROK-Vietnam Bilateral Relations Before 1992 ........................... 71


3.1.2. Development of ROK-Vietnam Relations since 1992.................. 73
3.1.2.1. Politics and Foreign Affairs ................................................... 74
3.1.2.2. Economic Cooperation .......................................................... 77
3.1.2.3. Development Cooperation (ODA) ......................................... 84
3.1.2.4. Cultural and Social Cooperation........................................... 87
3.2. Opportunities and Challenges in ROK-Vietnam Relations ........... 91
3.2.1. Opportunities in ROK- Vietnam Relations................................... 91
3.2.2. Engines behind Rapidly Expanding Bilateral Relations ............... 94
3.2.3. Challenges in ROK-Vietnam Diplomatic Relations ..................... 96
3.2.3.1 Challenges with Regional and Global Dimensions ................ 97
3.2.3.2. Challenges in Bilateral Relations Dimension ..................... 105
3.3. Ways Forward for ROK-Vietnam Relations in the 21st Century 109
3.3.1. Strategic Cooperative Partnership: Ways Forward..................... 109
3.3.2. General Principles ....................................................................... 112
3.3.3. Recommendations for Deepening Strategic Partnership ............ 115

3.3.3.1. For Trust-Building in Politics, Security and Diplomacy ..... 116
3.3.3.2. For Positive Response to US and Chinese Foreign Policies118
3.3.3.3. For Strategic Cooperation in Trade and Economic Sector . 120
3.3.3.4. For Diplomatic Relations with North Korea ....................... 122
3.3.3.5. For Coordinative Response to the Emerging Global Issues 123
3.3.4. Remarks....................................................................................... 131
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 136
AUTHOR’S WORKS ................................................................................. 140
LIST OF REFERENCES ........................................................................... 141


LIST OF ACRONYMS
AHF

Agape Hospital Fellowship

AKFTA

ASEAN-ROK Free Trade Agreement

APEC

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

ARF

ASEAN Regional Forum

ASEM

Asia – Europe Meeting

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

BRICS

Brazil, Russia, India, China and Republic of South Africa

EAI

East Asian Institute

EPS

Employment Permit System

EU

European Union

FDI

Foreign Direct Investment

FEALAC

Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation

FTA

Free Trade Agreement

G8 (group of

US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, Russia

most developed
countries)

G20 (group of

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France,

twenty developed

Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, ROK, Mexico,

and developing

Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United

countries)

Kingdom, US, and European Union

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GNI

Gross National Income

IMF

International Monetary Fund


IPCCC

International Panel Convention Climate Change

IT

Information Technology

KAOVA

Korea Agent Orange Veterans Association

KFHI

Korea Food for the Hungry International

KITA

Korea International Trade Association

KSP

Knowledge Sharing Programme

KVFTA

ROK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement

MDGs

Millennium Development Goals

MERCOSUR

Common Market of South America

NAFTA

North America Free Trade Agreement

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NGO

Non-Governmental Organization

ODA

Official Development Assistance

OECD

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PNTR

Permanent Normal Trade Relations

PPP

Purchasing Power Parity

RCEP

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnerships

ROK

Republic of Korea

SCO

Shanghai Cooperation Organization

SOE

State-owned Enterprise

TTIP

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

TPP

Trans-Pacific Partnership

USA

United States of America


USD

United States Dollar

USSR

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

UXO

Unexploded Ordnance

VAVA

Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (Dioxin)

WB

World Bank

WTO

World Trade Organization


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: BRICS International Status and Future Prospects ........................... 24
Figure 2. Trans-Pacific Partnership Countries ................................................ 26
Figure 3: Proportional Size of ROK, Chinese, and Japanese Economies in the
World ............................................................................................................... 36
Figure 4: ROK, China and Japan Trade Trends .............................................. 36
Figure 5: ROK, China and Japan Trade Ratio in World Trade ....................... 37
Figure 6: ASEAN GDP in the World .............................................................. 38
Figure 7: ASEAN members‟ GDP per capita (IMF 2012 estimates) .............. 38
Figure 8: Total ROK Trade Volume 1957-2011 .............................................. 47
Figure 9: Global GDP Growth (percent, quarter over quarter) ....................... 53
Figure 10: Vietnam‟s Economic Growth & Inflation 2002 - 2010 ................. 57
Figure 11: Government Debt and Government Guaranteed Public Debt ....... 58
Figure 12: ROK‟s Investment Trend in Vietnam ............................................ 78
Figure 13: Bilateral Trade and Investment Trend ........................................... 79
Figure 14: Top Ten Investing Countries in Vietnam ....................................... 80
Figure 15: Trend of Vietnam‟s Trade Balance with ROK............................... 81
Figure 16: Vietnam's Share in ROK's Total Trade with ASEAN .................... 82
Figure 17: The Trend of Visitors to Vietnam .................................................. 88
Figure 18: Comparison of ROK, Japan and Singapore Links with Vietnam
(2005-2013) ..................................................................................................... 93
Figure 19: ROK-Vietnam Trade Deficit Trend ............................................. 106

Figure 20: Energy and Oil Consumption Data.............................................. 124
Figure 21: Dependence on Foreign Resources, Oil Dependence on the Middle
East ................................................................................................................ 124
Figure 22: Competing claims in the South China Sea .................................. 126


1

PREFACE
1. Introduction
Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, regional and global governance
have been changing rapidly. So, too, has the strategic cooperative partnership
between Republic of Korea (hereafter referred to as ROK) and Vietnam.
There are good reasons, therefore, to carry out an in–depth analysis of the
evolving ROK-Vietnam relationship in its global setting. The world is now in
the process of an unprecedented transition period. Many experts predict that
the future world may shift into the “G-2 (the US and China) Era” or “the
Energy- Climate Era.” [31, pp. 308]. Scholars like T. Friedman1, expect that
the green and environmentally-friendly technology will play a key role in
reshaping economic growth paradigms and creating national prosperity in the
future.
Likewise, in the post-Cold War period, the world has changed
remarkably with rapid globalization. Globalization has played a pivotal role in
increasing the total world GDP as well as in facilitating relationships among
countries. The world has become more unified, and its system has also rapidly
changed. Together with a rapid leap in economic growth in the emerging
countries such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Republic of
South Africa), the global order and the international system are being newly

1

T. Friedman, – famous for his work on globalization, views, the future world as “Hot, Flat and Crowded”,

that is to say, characterized by the three trends of global warming, middle class society and increasing of
population, (from 6.7 billion in 2010 to 9.7 billion in 2050). A green revolution is the only strategy to
preserve the continued existence of human kind as well as the leadership power and the role of the United
States.


2

reshaped. In short, the relationships among powers which were created after
World War II are being restructured.
In the 21st century, relationship adjustments among powers will be one
of the main issues in world politics. This transition can be summarized under
the following three points: i) structural change in socialist systems, ii) shifts in
world power politics, and iii) changes in global actors‟ behavior. To be more
specific, after the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the
collapse of the socialist bloc worldwide. As a result, the world changed from
a bipolar to a uni-polar system, in which the United States became the leading
state. Many countries then began to move from socialist planned economies to
free market oriented ones, promoting the free exchange of goods and
personnel. The tone of world politics, too, changed from Hard Power Politics
–dominated by diplomatic, security and military issues to Soft Power Politicsfocusing on economics and culture. International actors began to address
global issues together through dialogue and friendly cooperation under the
basic principle of promoting peace and stability, and also fostered a
cooperative and unified spirit to deal with global issues.
In this complicated environment, the global governance change has
decisively, and in every aspect, influenced the development of ROK and
Vietnam relations. Around the middle of the 1980s, ROK and Vietnam were

under pressure to reshape and rejuvenate their foreign policies to swiftly adapt
to the changing global order. They responded to the newly evolving structure
of world order in a timely manner, proclaiming more reform oriented and
open foreign policies to enhance their national interests in the 21st century.


3

These policies contributed to promoting diplomatic normalization between the
two countries in 1992, laying the groundwork for astonishing development in
bilateral relations over the next twenty years.
Working on this solid foundation, ROK and Vietnam need to draw up a
new strategic cooperative framework. Vietnam aims to complete its
industrialization and modernization by 2020, while ROK has a national goal
to reunify the Korean peninsula. With these ideas as a background, this
dissertation examines the two countries‟ foreign policies and their relations in
all sectors. It also poses the question “What will be the next step forwards in
ROK-Vietnam relations”? It then offers some proposals to re-coordinate each
country‟s foreign policy in the coming years and to further develop their 2009
strategic cooperative partnership. Finally, the dissertation analyzes the present
global governance mechanism established at the end of the World War II,
surveys the distinctive characteristics of global governance change after the
end of the Cold War, examines the responses of ROK and Vietnam to these
changes, and then explores ways in which both countries can cooperate in the
medium and long term periods in the 21st century.
2. Literature review
There have been many books, articles and research papers analyzing
“global governance”. However, up to now, works examining the ROKVietnam Strategic Cooperative Partnership in the 21st century in the new
context of the global governance change have been lacking. The word “global
governance” has come into use with the rapid globalization since the 1990s.

Yet what exactly is “global governance”? Who governs the world? Both the


4

concept and the definition of “global governance” are rather vague. The
Commission on Global Governance2 defines its subject very generally as “the
sum of the many ways in which individuals and institutions, public and
private, manage their common affairs. It is a continuing process through
which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and cooperative
action taken.”[45, pp.7-8] However, the meaning of the term varies,
depending on the person employing it or the circumstances in which it is used.
The term does not have a precise definition because there is really no a
general consensus about its meaning [124].
Generally, “global governance” is a useful concept as a descriptive tool
for international cooperation; however, it has its limitations as an analytic
framework to explain the cause and effect relationship between cooperation
and conflict. Authors like James Rosenau have also used “governance” to
denote the regulation of interdependent relations in the absence of any
overarching political authority, such as in the international system. From a
slightly different perspective Robert Gilpin proposes Hegemonic Stability
Theory (HST), arguing that the international system is more likely to remain
stable when a single nation-state is the dominant world power, maintaining
hegemony [33, pp. 107].
Regarding the global governance mechanism after the end of the Cold
War, there are a number of views. Many people ask whether it will be possible
to continue to keep the present world order in the 21st century. If it is possible,
2

The Commission was established in 1992 with the support of United Nations Secretary-General Boutros

Boutros-Ghali.


5

when and in what circumstances is eventual change likely? Who and which
country can lead any future shift? Joseph Nye considers that the various and
complex transnational connections and interdependencies between states and
societies have been increasing, while the use of military force and power
balancing is decreasing, although it still remains important [49, pp. 115]. The
article by James Petras entitled “China: Rise, Fall, and Re-emergence as a
Global Power” proposes a different view. China will replace the United States
to become a leading world economic power over the next decade. However,
China has seriously lagged behind the United States and Europe in building
an aggressive war-making capacity. Nevertheless, the leadership in regulating
world order is gradually shifting to the emerging countries. The article in the
Financial Times entitled “The End of US hegemony: Legacy of 9/11” argues
that while the United State still maintains overwhelming power, it no longer
plays the role of hegemony [13].
Regarding the reform of the United Nations, Thomas G.Weiss, David P.
Fasythe and Roger A. Coate in “The United Nations and Changing World
Politics” take up three key issues: international peace and security; human
rights and the growing influence of non-state actors; and sustainable
development/eco-development. However, this work cannot provide a clear-cut
answer to the main issues which the UN is now facing. The key issue of the
UN is how to reform the UN Security Council. With accelerated globalization
unprecedented global issues have arisen. A number of books, journals, and
articles dealing with global issues such as climate change, poverty, terrorism,

6

and human rights, are now being published. Among them are the “UN
International Panel Convention Climate Change (IPCCC) Report” and the
“Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change” by Nicholas Stern.
However, there are many coercive ways to address such global issues. As
noted above, research on the ROK-Vietnam Strategic Cooperative Partnership
has hitherto been limited. The Cold War prevented ROK and Vietnam from
establishing normal relations and engaging in people to people exchange. Of
course, ROK had good diplomatic relations with South Vietnam before
Vietnam‟s unification by North Vietnam in 1974. Nevertheless, from the
middle of the 1980s, both ROK and Vietnam began to exchange trade. The
article by Do Hai Nam, Ngo Xuan Binh and Sung Yeul Koo in “Economic
Cooperation between ROK and Vietnam in the Context of East Asian
Integration” notes that, while their relations were inaugurated commercial
during the second half of the 1980s, the ties remained limited to trade [3, pp.
419]. Around that time, ROK and Vietnam proclaimed new foreign policies to
respond to the rapid changes in the international environment. ROK opened
its “Northern Diplomacy,” while Vietnam adopted “Doi Moi (Reform and
Open Door Policy)” in 1986. These two diplomatic policies provided the
greatest impulse to strengthen ROK-Vietnam relations and bring them to their
present state. In this regard, Alexander Lam Vuving “The Shaping of Foreign
Policy: Vietnamese Grand Strategy after the Cold War” [115] sheds light on
the reconstruction of Vietnamese diplomacy in the new world order. Charles


7

K. Armstrong‟s article entitled “South Korea‟s Northern Policy” 3, [10, pp.
35-45] examines the ROK‟s response, focusing on the importance of attached

to dialogue and lessening tensions with North Korea and its communist allies.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between ROK and
Vietnam in 1992, numerous studies of bilateral ties have been published. Most
focus on the development of economic and cultural, but not political relations.
The article entitled “Vietnam-Korea Strategic Cooperative Partnership” in
The “World and Vietnam magazine” in 2012 and the study by Do Hai Nam,
Ngo Xuan Binh and Sung Yeul Koo in “Economic Cooperation between
Vietnam and the Republic of Korea in the East Asian Integration,” both
present new insights into the remarkable development of ROK-Vietnam
relations over the last 20 years. These publications argue that the
unprecedented development has occurred because both countries lie
geographically in the “East Asian cultural region”, with its salient
characteristics of patriotism, intelligence and skill, passion for study and
industriousness in work. It was against this background that the two countries‟
relations were upgraded to “Strategic Cooperative Partnership” in 2009 from
the “Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership” in 2001.
However, there have been very few books which attempt to examine

3

The “Northern Policy" was the signature foreign policy of South Korean president Roh Tae-woo. The
policy guided South Korean efforts to reach out to the traditional allies of North Korea, with the ultimate
goal of normalized relations with the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, both to improve
the South's economy and to leave the North so isolated that it would have no choice but to open itself up
and reduce military tensions.


8

comprehensively “Vietnam-ROK strategic cooperative relations and their

future direction in the context of global governance change in the 21 st
century”. Ngo Xuan Binh‟s book entitled “The Relationship between Vietnam
and South Korea in the New International Context” [2, pp. 296-297] suggests
new ideas on upgrading the bilateral relationship to a “Strategic Cooperative
Partnership” in the 21st century. However, the book fails to put forward more
detailed strategic directions in response to the shifting patterns of recent world
governance, and also does not clarify the fundamental principles, global and
regional, on which a comprehensive 21st century “strategic cooperative
partnership” should be based.
3. The research objectives
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cold War has ended.
Moreover, both East and West Germany have been unified. Despite this,
many legacies of the Cold War persist in the East Asian region, especially in
the Korean peninsula. With the international order experiencing rapid change,
many new and complex global issues have arisen. Most of these are having an
impact on the East Asian region. Within this region, two very sensitive
problems, the North Korean nuclear issue and territorial dispute in the South
China Sea, remain unsolved. At the same time, a now wealthy and strong
China has been demonstrating its power in the territorial disputes with Japan
over the Senkaku islands and with Vietnam and Philippines over the Sprately
islands. Nationalism in the East Asia is also becoming strident and attractive
to many leaders as a political tool. Many scholars predict that rising China


9

might attempt to change the global governance system centered on the
Western countries, with the passage of time.
Under these circumstances, Vietnam and Korea need to consider a
variety of realistic alternative diplomatic strategies. This dissertation looks at

Korean and Vietnamese strategic cooperation in the context of global
governance change in the 21st century. It focuses on the questions “What
should be the next step in ROK-Vietnam relations in the context of global
governance change?” “What measures should ROK and Vietnam takes to deal
with various and complex factors,” and “What are their most realistic policy
options in 21st century.” The dissertation then proposes new mid and longterm visions for upgrading ROK-Vietnam relations in the 21st century.
4. The task of the dissertation
The dissertation focuses on solving the following tasks:
1)Studying the importance of the changing process and characteristics of
global governance mechanisms in contemporary world history
2)Finding possible ways of defining international/regional/bilateral
special events and situations by international political theory
3)Trying to clarify the implications of these developments and
approaches for the Asian region, especially ROK and Vietnam, and analyzing
possible ways forward for both countries as they respond to bilateral issues
that might arise in the future
4)Examining realistic alternatives for ROK and Vietnam to upgrade and
develop their relations in all sectors, including political and military
cooperation


10

5)Proposing some recommendations for a “ROK-Vietnam new mid and
long term strategic vision”, a new strategic cooperative model in the years to
come.
5. Scope of the research
The period covered by this research shall be limited to that extending
from the end of the Cold War in 1991 to 2020. The dissertation analyzes the
global governance structure that was formed after the Second World War in

1945. It then provides an overview of global and regional governance changes
and their recent characteristics from the end of the Cold War to the present. It
also analyzes the responses of ROK and Vietnam to the global governance
changes during this period. The analysis of the strategic cooperative
partnership between ROK and Vietnam begins from 1992, when the two
countries established their diplomatic relations, and continues to cover the
following 30 years.
Regarding subject matter, the dissertation takes up the reshaping of
relations among major international actors, especially the United States and
China, along with international organizations such as UN, IMF, WB, G-8, G20 and ASEAN. It will also analyze power redistribution trends among the
great powers and examine their foreign policies in the East Asia region. The
dissertation pays particular attention to the foreign policies of ROK and
Vietnam in response to global governance change from the middle of the
1980s to the present.
6. Research methods
The dissertation avoids technical discussion as much as possible,


11

focusing first on developing a narrative of the great changes in global order
and governance and highlighting their distinguishing features and
implications. Subsequently, trends in Post Cold War ROK-Vietnam relations
within this framework are discussed with reference, where appropriate, to
political economy and international relations theory.
Again, where appropriate, the author makes use of historical, logical,
statistical, comparative and mathematical approaches, time series analysis,
and so on. Generally speaking, historical and time series approaches are the
most important in this work, especially when examining changing trends in
global governance mechanisms, and issues such as terrorism, climate change,

food security. These approaches are also indispensable for analyzing the
foreign policies of all actors, including those of ROK and Vietnam. So to is
the application of logic, which can often reveal the hidden, underlying
significance of apparently unconnected events. Dialectical approaches can be
employed to demonstrate the essential unity in US policies and actions in the
world at large as well as the East Asian region. Comparative methods help
uncover

differences

in

United

States‟

foreign

policy

on

global/regional/bilateral issues and towards particular countries. Statistical
and mathematical data is also utilized, where relevant.
7. The contribution of the dissertation
- The dissertation is the first work done in Vietnam to provide in-depth
analysis on ROK-Vietnam relations in the context of global governance
change from the end of the Cold War to the present in a complete and
systematic manner.

12

- The dissertation endeavors to analyze the advantages, disadvantages and
prospects for each field of bilateral cooperation, as well as to propose various
recommendations to enhance cooperative efficiency in the coming years.
- The dissertation studies the bilateral relations between ROK and
Vietnam as well as the relations of the two countries with China, the United
States and other international actors, which helps deepen the readers‟
knowledge of international relations.
- The dissertation provides a reference material for the teaching and
studying of world history, global governance theory, and international
relations, especially the relations between Vietnam and ROK, at universities,
colleges, institutes, and research centers.
- The dissertation should be a useful reference source for foreign-policy
makers and planners on Vietnam‟s relations with ROK.
8. The structure of the dissertation
Apart from the Introduction, the Conclusion and the Appendix, the
dissertation will be organized in three chapters, as follows:
1)Chapter 1 analyzes “Global Governance Changes and Their
Characteristics” (including its early form and the transition process)
(1) Global Governance: Definition and Framework
(2) Governance Structure: Changes and Their Characteristics
(3) Global Governance: Reshaping and Prospects
(4) Regional Governance Change in the East Asia Region
2)Chapter 2 describes “Policy Responses of ROK and Vietnam to Global
and Regional Governance Change since 1991”


13

(1) ROK and Vietnam: Responses to Global Governance Change
(2) ROK and Vietnam: Responses to Global Economic Crisis
(3) ROK and Vietnam: Responses to Regional Governance Change
3)Chapter 3 analyzes “Current ROK-Vietnam Bilateral Relations and the
Ways Forward in the Context of Global and Regional Governance Change in
the 21st Century”
(1) Overview of ROK-Vietnam Bilateral Relations
(2) Opportunities and Challenges in ROK-Vietnam Relations
(3) ROK-Vietnam Relations: Ways Forward in the 21st Century


14

CHAPTER 1
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE CHANGES AND THEIR
CHARACTERISTICS
1.1. Global Governance: Definition and Framework
1.1.1. Global Governance: Definition and Analytical Usefulness of the
Concept
In retrospect, globalization has deepened remarkably since the end of the
Cold War. It has played a pivotal role in greatly increasing real GDP and in
strengthening relationships among countries. This global trend has impacted
the global and regional governance structures which were formed after the
end of World War II. What exactly is global governance? Who governs the
world? According to Lawrence Finkelstein, “We say „governance‟ because
we do not really know what to call what is going on.” [30. pp. 367-368].
Globalization has brought along a new form of governance. It has become a
key term in the study of international political economy and international
relations, but the concept of global governance has not yet been defined for

“unanimous and unified usage in the study of international relations” [27, pp.
246]. Like globalization, governance can be conceived broadly or narrowly.
Most generally, the Commission on Global Governance defines its subject as
“the sum of the many ways in which individuals and institutions, public and
private, manage their common affairs.” [103, pp. 4]
In recent years, the term "global governance" has become a frequently
used expression as is shown by the publication of a journal of the same name.
However, the meaning of the term remains diverse depending on personal