Son Daekwon
(Will Son, 孙大权)

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (in English, SSCI*)

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• “The Asynchronous Waltz: South Korea–U.S. Misaligned Cross-Strait Policy during the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration,” with Yongjoon Park and Kyung-suk Lee, Issues & Studies, forthcoming.

• “US Allies’ Foreign Policy Alignment in an Era of Great Power Competition: An Analysis of Domestic Politics,” with Kyung-suk Lee and Hankyeul Yang, Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 46, No. 4 (2025), pp. 948-976.*

• “The Impacts of U.S. Foreign Policy on Taiwanese Public Support for Independence: Evidence from Experimental Analysis,” with Kyung-suk Lee, Journal of Chinese Political Science, Vol. 40, No. 4 (2025), pp. 621-645.*

• “China’s Strategic Opportunity in the Era of ‘America First’,” International Affairs, Vol. 101, No. 5 (2025), pp. 1343-1360.*

• “Driving a Wedge Between China and South Korea: North Korea’s Rangoon Bombing Revisited,” China and Asia, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2024), pp. 83-110.

• "We are Brothers but Not Allies: The Sino–DPRK Alliance Revisited," with Han Yongjon, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 97, No. 1 (March 2024), pp. 5-28.*

• "When Beijing Chose Seoul over Pyongyang: China–South Korea Diplomatic Normalization Revisited," China Quarterly, Vol. 256 (May 2023), pp. 960-976.*

• “On the Resilience of the Sino-DPRK Relations,” Sungkyun China Insight, No. 7 (January 2023), pp. 1-7.

• “Bringing North Korea to the Negotiating Table: Unstable Foundations of Kim Jong-un’s North Korean Regime,” International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Vol. 21, No. 2 (May 2021), pp. 295–325.*

• “Sino-DPRK Geopolitical Curse behind Kim Jong-un’s Olive Branch,” with Jang Youngduk, Pacific Focus, Vol. 35, No. 1 (April 2020), pp. 29-58.*

•  “Domestic Instability as a Key Factor Shaping China's Decision to Enter the Korean War,” The China Journal, Vol. 83, No. 1 (2020), pp. 34-57.*

• “Evolution of North Korea’s Peace Treaty Proposals and Sino-DPRK Relations behind the Scene,” Korea Observer, Vol. 50, No. 4 (Winter 2019), pp. 505-533.* 

• “Flawed Assumption in Pro-Nuclear Arguments and South Korea’s Strategic Choice,” Asian Perspective, Vol. 43, No. 1 (2019), pp. 123-144.*

• "Who Restrains Who? Sino–DPRK Strategic Interaction during the Second Nuclear Crisis," with Song Wenzhi, The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2018), pp. 231-246.*

• “Did Deng’s China Follow A Developmental State Model?: A Study of State Autonomy and State Capacity during the Deng Xiaoping’s Era,” The Journal of Northeast Asian Research, Vol. 28, No.1 (2013), pp. 225-256.

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Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (in Korean)

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• "Kim Il-sung’s Three Korean War Schemes and China’s Alliance Restraint: A Geopolitical Perspective," Korea and World Politics, Vol. 41, No. 1 (2025), pp. 281-321.

• “The Ward Case: A Failure of Wedge Strategy, and a Move to China’s 'Leaning-to-One-Side' Policy,” Sino-Soviet Affairs, Vol. 41, No. 2 (2017), pp. 109-150.

• “An Analysis of North Korean Media's Coverage of the THAAD Deployment and Its Strategic Implications: With Special Reference to Rodong Sinmun and Uriminzokkiri,” with Ahn Seul Ki, East Asian Studies, Vol. 36, No.1 (2017), pp. 63-101.

• “A Comparative Analysis of Investment Suitability and its Efficiency in Western China: Special Reference to Korean and Taiwanese Cases,” with Lee Kyungjin, and Lee Jinsang, Studies of China, Vol. 15 (2013) pp. 109-148.

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Book Review

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• The Hijacked War: The Story of Chinese POWs in the Korean War, By David Cheng Chang. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 93, No. 4 (December 2020), pp. 835-837.*

• A Misunderstood Friendship: Mao Zedong, Kim Il-Sung, and Sino-North Korean Relations, 1949-1976, by Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018, The China Journal, Vol. 83, No. 1, 2020, pp. 204-206.*

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Current Project​

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• “The Impacts of Chinese Policies on Taiwanese Public Support for Independence and Unification: Evidence from an Experimental Analysis,” with Kyung-suk Lee [Revise & Resubmit].

• "Strange Bedfellows: The Rise and Fall of DPRK–ROC Rapprochement amid the 1992 PRC–ROK Diplomatic Normalization,” with Yongjoon Park [Under Review].

• "Understanding Xi Jinping’s China from Within: Linkage between Domestic Authoritarianism and Foreign Assertiveness,” with Yongjon Han [Under Review].

• "Ambiguous Bridge over Troubled Water: Understanding U.S. Strategic Ambiguity over the Taiwan Strait,” with Yongjon Han [Under Review].

• "To Join or Not to Join? Protégé’s Audience Costs for Fighting Unwanted Patron's War,” with Kyung-suk Lee [Under Review].

• "When Your Neighbors Go Nuclear: The Impacts of Neighboring Countries' Nuclear Armament on Taiwan," with Kyung-suk Lee [In Progress].

• "Killing an Enemy with a Borrowed Knife: China’s Experiences of Three Proxy Wars during the Cold War," [In Progress].

• "Mao’s Erroneous Decision? China’s Decision to Cross the 38th Parallel Revisited,” [In Progress].

Op-Eds
 

• "I Visited the Chinese-North Korean Border. Here's What I Found," The National Interest, Oct 3, 2018 (in English).

• "The Impact of Lee Myung-bak’s Alleged Corruption on South Korea’s Security," with Ahn Seul Ki The Diplomat, March 23, 2018 (in English)

• "Kim Jong-un’s Olympic Olive Branch to South Korea Reflects His Confidence," South China Morning Post, January 9, 2017 (in English).

• “South Korea’s Search for Autonomy,” with Andrady Abrahamian, Lowy Institute, December 15, 2017 (in English).

• “Moving On: China Resolves THAAD Dispute with South Korea,” with Andray Abrahamian, 38 North, November 9, 2017 (in English).

• "Xi Jinping Thought Vs. Deng Xiaoping Theory," The Diplomat, October 25, 2017 (in English).

• "Interpreting Xi Jinping’s Power from the CCP 19th Party Congress," PacNet, October 13, 2017 (in English).

• “Can China Curb North Korea's Nuclear Ambitions?,” The Diplomat, August 22, 2017 (in English).

• “What Does North Korea Think of China's 'Dual Freeze' Proposal?,” The Diplomat, July 25, 2017 (in English).

• “China's North Korea Solution: A PLA Publication Helps Explain China’s Priorities and Strategy for the Korean Peninsula.,” The Diplomat, July 21, 2017 (in English).

• “'4月攻朝论'如何看? (How to Look at the Rumor about April Crisis),” Cankaoxiaoxi, April 17, 2017.

• “韩日慰安妇协议: 仍未弥合的分歧 (Korea-Japan Comfort Women Agreement: Not Yet Settle a Feud),” China Newsweek, No. 2, (2016), pp. 33-35.

• “中国看世界的心态还需历练 (China’s World View Still Needs to be More Trained),” International Herald Leader, Vol. 829, No. 33, (April 21, 2016), p.18.

• “韩国国内为何出现反对'萨德'声音 (Why Anti-THAAD Voices Emerge in Korea?),” International Herald Leader, Vol. 829, No. 32, (April 13, 2016), p.19.

• “伊核问题解决了，下一个该朝核了？(Iran Nuke’s Done. Is it North Korea’s Turn?),” Guanchazhe, June 22, 2015.

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