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På skilda breddgrader - USA:s interventionspolitik i Korea och Vietnam på 1960-talet

Andersson, Johan LU and Gustavsson, Klara LU (2020) STVA22 20201
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This comparative case study examines American foreign policy in Korea and Vietnam after the agreements of armistice in 1953 and 1954. During the 1960’s the United States increased its military presence in Vietnam. In Korea however, the US did not intervene after the agreement of armistice. The study aims to explain why the US chose two different approaches from a neoclassical realist perspective. It seeks systemic explanations, as well as explanations related to state capacity and the American decision makers’ perception of the power relations. The result shows that structural explanations were not enough to explain the differences in the US policy. However, the South Vietnamese state was less capable of withstanding external threats than... (More)
This comparative case study examines American foreign policy in Korea and Vietnam after the agreements of armistice in 1953 and 1954. During the 1960’s the United States increased its military presence in Vietnam. In Korea however, the US did not intervene after the agreement of armistice. The study aims to explain why the US chose two different approaches from a neoclassical realist perspective. It seeks systemic explanations, as well as explanations related to state capacity and the American decision makers’ perception of the power relations. The result shows that structural explanations were not enough to explain the differences in the US policy. However, the South Vietnamese state was less capable of withstanding external threats than the South Korean. Moreover, the South Vietnamese army was inferior to the North Vietnamese, while the South Korean was superior to its northern counterpart. These factors can explain the American decision to intervene in South Vietnam while reducing its military presence in South Korea. (Less)
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author
Andersson, Johan LU and Gustavsson, Klara LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVA22 20201
year
type
L2 - 2nd term paper (old degree order)
subject
keywords
Neoclassical realism, Korea, Vietnam, USA, Comparative case study, US foreign policy
language
Swedish
id
9009134
date added to LUP
2020-09-21 13:29:26
date last changed
2020-09-21 13:29:26
@misc{9009134,
  abstract     = {{This comparative case study examines American foreign policy in Korea and Vietnam after the agreements of armistice in 1953 and 1954. During the 1960’s the United States increased its military presence in Vietnam. In Korea however, the US did not intervene after the agreement of armistice. The study aims to explain why the US chose two different approaches from a neoclassical realist perspective. It seeks systemic explanations, as well as explanations related to state capacity and the American decision makers’ perception of the power relations. The result shows that structural explanations were not enough to explain the differences in the US policy. However, the South Vietnamese state was less capable of withstanding external threats than the South Korean. Moreover, the South Vietnamese army was inferior to the North Vietnamese, while the South Korean was superior to its northern counterpart. These factors can explain the American decision to intervene in South Vietnam while reducing its military presence in South Korea.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Johan and Gustavsson, Klara}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{På skilda breddgrader - USA:s interventionspolitik i Korea och Vietnam på 1960-talet}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}