Syngman Rhee, David Ben-Gurion, and the United States Público
Kim, Matthew Dale (2010)
Published
Abstract
Abstract
Syngman Rhee, David Ben-Gurion, and the United States
By Matthew Dale Kim
Cold War history is often reduced to two monoliths commanding the
allegiance
of Third World countries. In such depictions, Third World leaders
occupy only a minor
role in international affairs. In contrast, Tony Smith's
"pericentric view" of the Cold War
shifts the focus to these smaller actors. Smith suggests that some
American allies
frequently flouted U.S. authority and that, despite their failures
to establish democratic
rule and comply with American foreign policy, they drew substantial
concessions from
Washington. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First, it
attempts to determine whether
pericentrism aptly describes the relationship that the United
States had with South
Korea's Syngman Rhee and Israel's David Ben-Gurion. Second, the
thesis examines how
Rhee and Ben-Gurion developed these pericentric
relationships.
In order to disprove the notion that Washington dictated Rhee's and
Ben-
Gurion's foreign policies and to suggest that pericentrism applies
to South Korea and
Israel, the thesis first examines their undemocratic, strong-armed
tactics. The thesis then
examines how Rhee and Ben-Gurion flouted American policy during the
Korean War and
Suez Crisis respectively. Their questionable tactics and refusal to
follow American orders
suggest that they were not simply being "used" by the United
States. Moreover, in spite
of their disagreements with Washington, the thesis notes that they
drew significant
concessions from the U.S.
The second half of the thesis is devoted to understanding what
allowed Rhee and
Ben-Gurion to influence American policy despite their
transgressions. The first and
obvious reason is their anti-Communist stance, which motivated the
United States to
support them because of the greater Communist threat. Secondly,
their regimes fit Fareed
Zakaria's idea of "liberal autocracy" in which founding fathers use
strong-armed tactics
to stabilize their regimes in preparation for future democratic
rule. Therefore, Washington
overlooked their liberal autocracies, in hopes of a future
democracy.
Ultimately, the thesis argues that not all Cold War history is a
history of monoliths.
There was a period immediately following 1948 in which junior
members of the
international system could play a significant role.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I. Introduction 1
II. Challenges to Pericentrism 10
III. Pericentrism in South Korea and Israel 15
IV. Reasoning Behind Pericentrism 49
V. Conclusion 68
Bibliography 72
About this Master's Thesis
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