The Future World Political Order and Regional Theory

Reasons to re-examine regional theory now

Humanity in the 21st century is experiencing multiple crises, including climate change, pandemics, the spread of war, and risks arising from technological advancements. However, instead of deepening cooperation, the international community is repeating self-centeredness and competition, leading to the most unstable world since World War II. International political science today faces a grand academic challenge of understanding the world order of the past 30 years since the end of the Cold War, identifying the reasons for the disappearance of prevailing optimism, and discerning what kind of world order will emerge in the future.

This book analyzes the formation and transformation of the contemporary world order based on Dongju Lee Yong-hee's regional theory and seeks theoretical alternatives in international political science. In particular, it points out the structural contradictions of the Westphalian-liberal region formed after World War I and examines today's world order, situated within complex macro-transitions, from a regional perspective. Regional theory, which analyzes the phased changes since the formation of the modern European region, still provides a useful framework for studying the long-term transitions of the world order on a global scale.

World Order at a Crossroads of Change

From the perspective of regional theory, today is on the continuum of the modern world order established after World War I. The modern world order is led by the Westphalian-liberal region based on the sovereign state system and liberal ideology; however, since the end of the Cold War, the conflict between the sovereign state order and the global political space has created the core contradiction of contemporary world politics. The author diagnoses that unless this contradiction is resolved, the world order cannot escape its transitional nature.

The author reconstructs regional theory to analyze the formation process of the current world order in the 21st century and discusses the conditions for regional evolution and the shape of the future world order. The modern European Westphalian-balance of power region expanded globally, fueled by the economic expansion and imperialism of modern states. However, as competition among states intensified, the consensus for maintaining the balance of power disappeared, and the fundamental contradictions of the region ultimately led to the world wars of the 20th century. The modern Westphalian-liberal region that emerged after World War I was self-divided based on the opposing ideologies of liberalism and communism during the Cold War, with the United States and the Soviet Union emerging as new superpowers leading the world order.

The United States, which led the post-Cold War liberal region, is now showing limitations in maintaining the region alone. Furthermore, various challenges are being posed to the sustainability of the liberal region. This book examines the limitations of liberal political thought and explores the conditions necessary for realizing an operating principle that encompasses both liberalism and democracy. It also discusses the possibility of a multi-regional world order emerging as the liberal region shows signs of self-division due to the US-China strategic competition and examines various scenarios for the coming world order.

Possibilities of a Multi-Regional World Order and Korea's Path Forward

If the US-led Westphalian-liberal region fails to evolve beyond its challenges and contradictions, the liberal region will weaken, leading to the self-division of world politics. A multi-regional world order, where multiple regions coexist and compete, will emerge. The most powerful nation with the strength and will to create new regions is China. Russia, Islamic countries, and the European Union are also showing movements to find their own paths. Regional theory offers analytical advantages that allow us to view the various conflicts and crises occurring today from a longer-term perspective and within the context of regions. Based on this, we can re-examine the future world order and consider normative practical measures that each state and non-state actor should pursue within it.

This book applies the theoretical achievements of regional theory to analyze the changes in the world order over the past 30 years and presents several possible trajectories for the future world order. Furthermore, it seeks implications for finding Korea's response suitable for new civilizational standards. Moving beyond isolated nationalism, seeking a vision for a new national model and finding a strategic position and role in new regions that encompass not only the Earth but also cyberspace, space, and artificial intelligence are emerging as Korea's tasks to become the protagonist of history.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

The World Order Facing Crisis 13

Limitations of International Political Theory in Analyzing World Order 16

Regional Theory and the Analysis of World Order 21

Regional Theory and the Future of the Contemporary World Order 28

Structure of Each Chapter 32

Chapter 2 Regional Theory

Methodology of Regional Theory 39

Epistemology of Regional Theory and Art History Theory 43

The Five-Layer Structure of Regions 49

Major Regions 58

Classification of Regions: Authoritative Regions and Coercive Regions 65

Center and Periphery within Regions 75

Diffusion of Regions 78

Formation and Maintenance of Regional Order 82

Chapter 3 The Westphalian-Balance of Power Region of Modern Europe

The Necessity of Studying the Westphalian Region 89

Regions in the Pre-Modern World 92

The Beginning of Modernity and the Emergence of the European Westphalian Region 96

The Nature of the Modern State: Military State, Economic State, Colonial State 99

Principles of Balance of Power 107

Regions and Political Meaning 111

The Nation-State as the Core of the European Region 121

Self-Contradictions of the Modern Region 125

Chapter 4 The Emergence of Contemporary World Politics and the Self-Division of Cold War Regions

The Emergence of Contemporary World Politics 133

Contemporary World Politics and Collective Security 138

Contemporary World Politics and the Internationalist Economy 142

Contemporary World Politics and the Political Order of Decolonization 145

Political Consciousness of Individuals 148

The Emergence of the Modern State 150

The Rise of Modern Superpowers: The United States and the Soviet Union 153

The US-Led Westphalian-Liberal Region during the Cold War 157

Principles of Liberalism 161

Principles of Hegemonic Liberalism 166

Liberal International Political Theory and the Westphalian-Liberal Region 169

Self-Contradictions of the Westphalian-Liberal Region during the Cold War 171

The Soviet-Led Internationalist-Communist Region 175

Chapter 5 Directions of Contemporary World Politics and Future Global New Regions

The Ideal Region Towards Which Contemporary World Politics Aims 183

Deepening Globalization and Globalism 188

First Task: Democratization of International Order 191

Second Task: Multidimensional, Global Liberalism Beyond the State 198

Third Task: Global Liberal Democracy 201

The Emergence of the European Union of States Region and the Dual Trends of Integration and Decentralization 204

Possibility of Global Diffusion of the Union of States Model 208

Post-Cold War Era and Regional Theory 213

Regional Theory After the European Union Model 216

Chapter 6 The US-Led Westphalian-Liberal Region in the Post-Cold War/Globalization Transition Period

The Westphalian-Liberal Region and its Challenges 225

Structural Changes Surrounding the Liberal Region in the Post-Cold War/Globalization Transition Period 228

New Challenges for the US-Led Liberal Region 233

Limitations of Hegemonic Capacity 240

Limitations of Hegemonic Operating Principles 244

Search for a New Regional Order: Capacity to Provide International and Global Public Goods 249

History and Types of Public Goods 253

Nature of Public Goods and International Politics 256

Waltz's Theory of International Politics and Public Goods from a Neorealist Perspective 260

Hegemony and International Public Goods 264

Globalization Transition and Global Public Goods 269

Structural Contradictions of the Westphalian-Liberal Region 273

Chapter 7 Ideological Foundations of Future Regions

Limitations of Liberal Operating Principles 279

The Concept of Freedom and the Realization of Political Freedom in International Relations 282

The Dual Relationship of Cooperation and Conflict Between Liberalism and Democracy 288

Possibility of Establishing Liberal Democratic Operating Principles in International Politics 296

Liberal Democracy and Individualistic Ontology 301

Ontological Assumptions of Individualistic States in the Anarchy of International Politics 304

Waltz's Individualistic Ontology 308

Communitarianism and Republicanism as Critiques of Pluralistic Liberalism 311

Critique of Liberal Political Thought and the Possibility of Post-Westphalian Transition 322

Realist Critique of Liberalism 324

Chapter 8 Future World Order: The Possibility of a Multi-Regional Order

New Characteristics of US-China Strategic Competition 330

Incomplete Diffusion of the Westphalian-Liberal Region 336

Conditions for China's De-Regionalization 340

China's Tasks Towards Creating a New Region 346

Direction of the Future World Order 352

Scenarios for the Future World Order 359

Chapter 9 Conclusion: Multi-Regional World Order and Korea's Tasks

Theoretical Contributions of Regional Theory 389

Post-Cold War/Globalization Transition and Regional Theory 398

Regional Theory and Korea's Tasks 408

Bibliography 417

Endnotes 421

Index 434