Ideology and Realism: Confucianism and Korean Foreign Policy 1351-1637

Abstract

Realism has often been assumed to have very little or no clout at all in the study of ideational forces in international relations. This is an assumption which must be problematized. Realism is a rich old tradition in international relations with its core interest in research being the study of power. For the seminal classical realist Hans J. Morgenthau, power was simply "anything that establishes and maintains the control of man over man". Grounded upon this logic, where power could be both material and non-material, ideology is within the purview of realist research. Confucianism is one such ideology which has exercised significant political control and influence over the foreign policy behaviour of Late Medieval and Early Modern Korea, informing, shaping, and constraining the behaviour and expectations of ruling elites. How this came to be and what it means for power politics in that context are all relevant concerns for realism. The influence of Confucianism on groups and individuals does matter because an understanding of foreign policy cannot be complete without examining unit-level variables. In Korea, the Confucianisation of the yangban aristocracy was more important for determining foreign policy behaviour and constraints than a focus on Confucianism and its influence on individual monarchs. Moving the discussion of international relations theories outside its usual comfort zones of European balance of power politics and the Cold War is also imperative if the discipline of international relations is to keep pace with globalisation of learning. To facilitate this crossover into different historical periods and regions, a historically contingent approach may lead to more substantive engagement with diverse subjects.