Contemporary China-North Korea Bilateral Security Relations: Establishing the Role of Power and Ideas in Foreign Policy Decision-making

Abstract

This dissertation explores the role of ideology on the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) policy toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea). In contrast to existing studies that isolate state identity, security, or economic considerations in China’s decision-making, this thesis asserts Beijing’s North Korea policy is best understood by synthesizing realist and constructivist theories. Building on this model, the first aim of the thesis is to utilize a constructivist-realist theoretical lens and a mixed method approach that combines process tracing, archival research, and analysis of Chinese state-sponsored scholarship to explain China’s support of North Korea and the evolution of bilateral relations in critical issue areas including alliance management, economic cooperation, cyber security, arms trade, and nuclear security interactions. The second aim is to identify the primary intervening variables that facilitate and constitute bilateral relations. Constructed notions of political security play a prominent role in alliance management and cyber security cooperation, whereas historical memory is of paramount importance in economic relations, arms trade, and nuclear interactions. The case study analysis demonstrates that ideology plays a different role in each critical issue area and fluctuates depending on materialist and ideational constraints over time. Moreover, the salience of ideological variables heavily depends on relevant state and party institutions, all of which have varying degrees of influence and agency within each policy field, thus impacting the formation of national interests and the implementation of government decision-making. The final aim of the dissertation is to explicate how the paper’s conclusions may be useful to understanding China’s military support of North Korea and the future of bilateral ties from the perspective of U.S. and allied policymakers. The findings broadly suggest China’s North Korea policy originates in entrenched ideological tenets and political structures. To effectuate change, U.S. and allied attention should be directed towards engaging and influencing Chinese stakeholders, especially well-connected scholars, through academic exchanges and policy workshops, to challenge the deeply rooted ideological lenses at play in Chinese foreign policy decision-making.