Earticle

초록

영어

This paper examines the shift toward an economic-security and national-strategy nexus in international relations through the case of South Korea’s semiconductor industry in the age of artificial intelligence. It develops the concept of techno-economic statecraft to explain how states convert technology, supply chains, market access, and institutional rules into strategic leverage. Using process tracing and a qualitative single-case analysis informed by weaponized interdependence, informal economic sanctions, economic statecraft, and strategic hedging, the paper follows the sequence from structural vulnerability in the THAAD dispute and Japan’s export controls to AI-driven HBM demand, U.S.–China technology competition, South Korea’s industrial-diplomatic response, and China’s counter-response. It argues that South Korea attempts to transform structural dependence into strategic indispensability through industrial upgrading, domestic institutional support, alliance management, and multilateral cooperation. Building a three‑layer analytical framework combining structural network conditions, state instrumental capacity and middle‑power behavioural posture, the paper further distinguishes techno‑economic statecraft from related concepts to clarify its unique causal conversion logic. The findings suggest that middle‑power conditional autonomy is not equivalent to neutrality, but hinges on the effective utilisation of irreplaceable supply‑chain nodes amid great‑power rivalry. The case shows that global technology networks provide great powers with chokepoint power, but also that middle powers can preserve limited and conditional autonomy when they occupy indispensable nodes in critical supply chains.

목차

ABSTRACT
I. Research Topic and Research Background
II. Literature Review, Research Questions, and Theoretical Framework
1. Literature Review
2. Research Questions and Method
3. Theoretical Framework
III. Case Analysis
1. Structural Vulnerability: THAAD, Japanese Export Controls, and Weaponized Interdependence
2. HBM, Network Compression, and U.S.–China Techno-Economic Statecraft
IV. From Structural Dependence to Strategic Indispensability: Linking Theory and Cases
V. Research Conclusion: Findings and Implications
References

키워드

저자

• Zhang Lin [ Ph. D Candidate, Graduate School of International Studies, Hanyang University ]

참고문헌

발행기관

간행물

표지보기 관심저널 등록

• 간행물명

  Open Regional Studies

• 간기

  부정기

• pISSN

  2951-3197

• 수록기간

  2022~2026

• 등재여부

  KCI 등재후보

• 십진분류

  KDC 912 DDC 951