OPENING REMARKS - PROFESSOR HAN
I am delighted that our two institutes, the IISS and the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, are collaborating on the Korea Forum. The Forum commemorates the 50th anniversary of the IISS and the launching of the Asan Institute earlier this year. This is an important milestone for both institutes, but I think it is important to think about all the changes and significant events that have marked the last 50 years between the founding of IISS and the establishment of the Asan Institute. Thinking about these changes could help inform our discussions about global security issues during the Forum.
Although it might be meaningful and worthwhile to discuss what has happened during the past 50 years in international relations, unfortunately it would make for a very long speech. So instead let me just point out some of the most important differences and changes that I can discern between the year 1958 and the year 2008. In my mind there are five significant differences that stand out.
First, in 1958, we were at the height of the Cold War. In today’s global environment the big powers are engaged in relationships with each other that combine a mixture of cooperation, competition and conflict.
Second, 50 years ago, the global order could be primarily characterized as one of bi-polarity existing between the United States and the Soviet Union. Today we are witnessing the emergence of a multi-polar world, or what some people call non-polar world. Before, the world was engaged in what could be called a “balance of terror,” or the threat of war between two great nuclear superpowers. Today we are fiercely fighting against the global threat of terrorism, a threat which may emerge in our complex world from both state and non-state actors.
Third, in the 1950s, a majority of countries in the world were yet to be democratized. Today, there is a great majority of countries around the world that have at least the trappings of democracy with elections, political parties and free speech. As different means of communication become more readily available and extensive in democracies and non-democracies alike, the public’s consciousness in these countries has developed along with access to an ever-expanding horizon of information.
Fourth, international issues and problems, which could be for the most part locally and regionally contained, are now completely globalized. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, climate change and global warming, conflict over scare resources, human rights and wide-spread humanitarian disasters, not to mention the growing integration and links between countries in the areas of economics and finance which has both positive and negative effects — all these have become global issues and problems.
Finally, 50 years ago, the two opposing superpowers and what was known as the Third World constituted a relatively stable world order that lasted for several decades. Today, a discernible world order has yet to emerge. Furthermore, if it does, we do not know if it will be an enduring one.
What does this all mean? What challenges can we expect to face in the months, years and decades to come? What should we do to meet and prepare for those challenges? These are the questions we must address during the Korea Forum, with a special focus on Korea and its role in the world. I sincerely want to thank all the participants for their contribution to the Forum. We all hope and expect to have a very productive meeting during the next two days.
Now I have the distinct pleasure of introducing tonight’s keynote speaker, the Honorable, Minister of Defense Lee Sang-Hee. Before assuming the post earlier this year, Minister Lee served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is truly a valuable person for our country’s defense and a veritable intellectual. We thank him for sharing his precious time and insight with us by giving this keynote speech. Please welcome Minister Lee Sang-Hee.
