Korea & the World (10) Pax Americana

2010. 5. 11김 병 구

bkkim9@gmail.com

This Week in Brief

• 한중 , 북중 연쇄 정상회담 – 실세 과시• 미 핵무기 보유 5113 기 , 최초 공식 발표–군축 이행 약속 , 핵무기 보유량 공개 방침

• 유럽 Euro 16 국 그리스 구조금융 지원 결정

• 프랑스 , 벨지움 , 네델란드 부르카 착용금지법 급속확산 추세

Rise & Fall of World Empires

• Persian Empire : 6 c. BC - 4 c. BC• Roman Empire : 2 c. BC – 7 c. AD• Mongolian Emp.: 13 c. AD – 14 c. AD• Ottoman Empire: 16 c. AD – 18 c. AD• Pax Britannia : 19 c. AD• Pax Americana : 20 c. AD• ??? : 21 c.

American History (1)

• 1492 Columbus discovers America• 17 c. Massive immigration from Europe– Eradication of American Indians

• 1776 Declaration of Independence (UK)• 1865 Civil War, slavery abolished– Civil rights for Afro-Americans

• 1914 World War I started, boom economy• 1929 Great Depression

American History (2)

• 1945 World War II ended, atomic bomb• 1950 Korean War, dispatch UNPKF• 1961 Establish Peace Corps • 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing• 1975 Defeated in Vietnam War• 1989 USSR collapsed, sole super power• 2001 9.11 terror attack, IRQ War• 2008 First black president elected

US Presidential Election System• 4 year term, one time re-election possible• Candidacy: native born citizen• Primary election system for two parties– Republican (red): conservative, big business– Democrat (blue): liberal, small, minorities

• Majority winner of electoral college (270 votes) – 50 states proportional E.C. votes : 538– Majority winner takes all E.C. votes for state– Nationwide popular vote winner may loose the E.C.

votes

How Obama Beats McCain (2008.11.4.)

Who is Barack Hussein Obama II?• 1961 born in Hawaii (48)– 1959. 8 Hawaii became 50th state of USA

• Father: Kenyan black, mother: Kansas white• Childhood in Hawaii, Indonesia, Africa• Bachelor from Columbia College in ‘International

Relations’ • Law doctor from Harvard Univ. (magna cum laude)• Wife Michelle, Harvard law school graduate• Civil rights lawyer in Chicago• First term senator from State of Illinois

Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

• Surprising news from Oslo (Oct. 9, 2009)– A Call to Action

• Nobel committee citation- "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.“- “his vision for nuclear weapon-free world through nuclear disarmaments”

• Third US president after Ted Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson

US Civil Rights History

• 1620 Mayflower pilgrims African slavery, native Indians

• 1776 300,000 black slaves• 1861 Civil War: Confederacy vs Federal Union• 1868 Citizenship to blacks• 1968 Assassination of Rev. King • 2008 Obama elected for 44th US President

Characteristics of Pax Americana• ‘Melting pot’ republic, starting from British

Puritan immigrants• Rapid growth through WW I, II mainly in Europe• Utopian vision, ‘land of opportunity’• World’s brightest, most talented immigrated to

US (60% of all Nobel Prize winners)• Shy away from overseas colonization• International contribution with Christian spirit• 20 century on international standards– Language: English, currency: US$

Lonely Super Power

• Difficulty of early years– Black slaves from Africa: racial discrimination

• Rapid growth to the West– Right to arm: culture of violence

• Limits of American democracy to overseas• Balance of power change after Soviet collapse• Middle East unrest from US bias policies for Israel• Losing international trust due to Christian

arrogance

Challenges for President Obama

• First priority: recovery from financial crisis• US troop withdrawal from Iraq in two years• War against terror: Afghanistan • Reform public health insurance• Invest on R&D for alternative energy• International diplomacy – multilateral regimes• Nuclear disarmaments, nonproliferation– Positive steps taken

US/Korea History• Education, medical universities from 19th century

– Yonsei, Ewha, Paijai, etc. • Agricultural immigrants to US from 19th century• Divided peninsula after WW II by US/USSR• Stopped communism with UN forces during Korean War

– 20,000 US army died during the War, 20,000 stationed now– Korean army sent to Viet Nam, Iraq

• Single largest overseas education, immigration• Best supporter of Korean economic miracle

– US educated Korean elites repatriated– US export market for industrial boom

Future Vision : US/Korea Relations

• 21 century tripartite world– US, EU, Asia– Obama foreign policy on Korea

• US troops in Korea: long term pull-out plan– Until NK threats, regime collapse

• Reconsider radical anti-America sentiments • From US dependency to equal partnership– Currency swap, no visa, FTA , etc.