Dividing the Korean Peninsula : the rhetoric of the George W. Bush administration

Abstract

This paper suggests that an examination of the discourse and rhetoric of the George W.

Bush administration offers a more comprehensive understanding of the developments that

occurred during the years of South Korea’s Sunshine policy (1998-2008). Such an approach

supplements the traditional neorealist perspective and helps to account for the direction of

certain policies. The paper argues that in its inter-Korean discourse, the Bush administration

framed South Korea as an ally and partner against North Korea, while imagining the North as

part of the “axis of evil” and a threat to international security. Since the US occupies an

essential role in inter-Korean affairs, its framing of North and South Korea as unalterable

opposites impeded inter-Korean reconciliation under the Sunshine policy. Rhetoric from two

events will illustrate this point – the 2001 US-South Korea summit and the 2004 US

Presidential Elections campaign.