This chapter introduces comparative lawyers to the field known as law and development, which in turn examines the uses of law for developmental objectives. The chapter attempts to relate the two fields and indicate the relevance of each to the other. In the course of doing this we also introduce a general theory of law and development that can be used as a bridge between the two. We submit that law and development is itself developing in ways that involve new ideas and the processing of varied experiences; these in themselves are preoccupations of comparative law too.

2.1 Causes of the Nuclear Crisis: Political and Economic Issues

2.1.1 North Korea's nuclear drive

North Korea's nuclear ambition is one of the most concerning military developments in Northeast Asia and beyond. North Korea is not the only country that has developed nuclear weapons outside the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons)—India, Pakistan, and Israel have not accepted the NPT and have developed their own nuclear weapons. Regardless, the continuing hostility between North Korea and the West renders North Korea's nuclear development particularly alarming. On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced its first nuclear test. North Korea has since developed and tested intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of delivering nuclear warheads to the continental United States. While other countries—India, Pakistan, and Israel—have secured nuclear capabilities rather quietly, North Korea has openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons against the United States and South Korea. Analysts have estimated that North Korea has more than 60 nuclear weapons and could develop around 200 nuclear weapons and stockpile hundreds of ballistic missiles by 2027. North Korea's nuclear ambitions have altered the balance of military power in Northeast Asia and the security landscape of the region, creating substantial political and economic ramifications.

North Korea's nuclear development traces back to the mid-1950s, shortly after the Korean War. North Korea had the uranium deposits to develop nuclear weapons, but it lacked the technology. In 1956, North Korea signed an agreement on nuclear research with the Soviet Union, and North Korean scientists received training in nuclear technologies in Russia. In September 1959, the Soviet Union also agreed to help North Korea establish a nuclear research center. That same year, North Korea also signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with China. In 1965, the Soviet Union sold North Korea a small two- to four-megawatt research reactor, which North Korea began operating near Yongbyon in 1967. In the 1970s, however, conciliatory international developments such as the non-proliferation treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union made it more difficult for North Korea to obtain foreign assistance to build nuclear weapons. North Korea felt little urgency to develop its nuclear capabilities, though, because it perceived little or no threat from South Korea, which was then focusing on economic development. Interestingly, North Korea proposed a joint nuclear program to South Korea in the 1970s, although South Korea did not accept.

7.1 An Independent Mongolia: Historical Context—From World Domination to the Fight for Independence

7.1.1 Pax Mongolica

Mongolia, the country that once dominated the world in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is now the smallest power in Northeast Asia in terms of population (3.29 million) and economy (US$ 15.1 billion GDP as of 2021). However, despite their modest presence in the present day, the Mongols, through their conquest and expansion throughout the thirteenth century, left a profound political, economic, and cultural impact on the Asian and European continents and changed the course of all nations therein. At its height, the Mongol Empire formed the largest land empire in history, spanning from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Danube River in the west, as illustrated in Figure 7.1.

The Mongols’ military success was unprecedented. The Mongols possessed an impressive cavalry, which could travel up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) a day and move without heavy supplies—unlike other armies at the time. The military genius of Mongolian leaders and generals (such as Chinggis Khan and General Subutai), supported by such powerful cavalry forces, led to unparalleled conquest within a few decades. The Mongol conquest was brutal and destructive, destroying the world's then greatest cities such as Herat, Kyiv, and Baghdad and claiming many lives therein. However, once the Mongol Empire had substantially completed its conquests by the mid-thirteenth century, it brought political unity and stability to the world, including Northeast Asia, often described as the “Pax Mongolica.” The Mongols set up an extensive postal relay system (“jam” system) throughout their empire, which was comprised of fixed relay stations that provided official travelers with horses, lodging, and other necessities for their journeys. The jam system expanded and became the most extensive network of communication and transportation in the pre-modern era, which facilitated the exchange of people, goods, information, and cultures between the East and the West.

The Mongol domination continued for over a century but ended with the dissolution of the Mongol Empire in 1368. The empire had been split into four Khanates (territories ruled by Mongolian leaders, “Khans”): the Golden Hordes in the Northwest (present-day Russia), the Yuan Dynasty in China, the Ilkhanate in the Southwest and Persia, and the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia. These Khanates retained a strong sense of shared identity and ruled under the laws and traditions of Chinggis Khan, but they operated as autonomous states.

5.1 A Restored Power

5.1.1 Economic restoration: From defeat in World War II to success in the global market

By the end of World War II, much of Japan had been destroyed. While the allied forces did not invade the main Japanese islands during the war, heavy U.S. bombing destroyed cities, villages, and much of its infrastructure. According to a Japanese government report on war damages, Japan lost 25 percent of its buildings and structures, 33 percent of its urban housing, 34 percent of its industrial machines, 81 percent of its commercial ships, 16 percent of its telegraph, telephone, and water supplies, 11 percent of its electricity and gas supplies, and 10 percent of its railroad and other land transportation. Over two million Japanese citizens also died during the war, while survivors suffered through food shortages and inflation. Economic production sharply decreased because of this war destruction. Figure 5.1 illustrates the low Japanese production of food, textiles, steel, and machinery in 1946 compared to its pre-war production.

The Japanese economy has gradually recovered since 1946. To foster recovery, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) initiated land reform in occupied Japan. Before the war, approximately two-thirds of the Japanese farmers did not own land. The SCAP's policy transferred land ownership to the farmers and improved farm tenancy practices. The reform was successful: the percentage of owner-operated cultivated land increased from 54 percent to 90 percent by 1950 (although the land reform had only a limited impact on agricultural production). An economically more significant development was the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. The destructive war was a tragic event for the Koreans, but it provided Japan with decisive momentum for economic recovery. Due to its proximity to the Korean peninsula, Japan served as the supply base for U.N. forces, and money poured into the Japanese economy for supplies from Japanese producers. As a result, production increased by nearly 70 percent during the war—as much as US$ 590 million in 1951 and over US$ 800 million in 1952 and 1953 (which amounted to 60 to 70 percent of its exports at the time) was pumped into the Japanese economy. Thanks to this wartime economic boom, the Japanese economy recovered to its pre–World War II level by 1952.

The Japanese economy continued to grow—an increase of 2.8 to 4.8 times every decade as shown in Table 5.1

4.1 South Korea: Center or Periphery?

4.1.1 The role of Korea in Northeast Asia: A historical perspective

Historically, united Korea played the role of a regional balancer in Northeast Asia. Since the tenth century, the Korean states such as Goryeo (고려, 918–1392) and Joseon (조선, 1392–1910) had cultural, economic, political, and military engagements with the adjacent powers, including Chinese dynasties, the northern tribes—the Jurchens (Manchus), Khitans, and Mongols—and the Japanese. The Korean states deterred other powers from fully conquering Northeast Asia. For example, the Khitans occupied northern China in the tenth century and subsequently invaded Korea. In 1019, Korea defeated the Khitans (then the strongest military force in Northeast Asia) and destroyed much of their military in historic warfare, preventing their further invasion into China and creating a balance of power in the region. For another example, Japan invaded Korea in 1592 with an ambition to conquer China. After a seven-year-long war, Korea repelled the Japanese invaders with the help of a Chinese expeditionary force, thereby stopping Japan's advance into mainland China and once again maintaining the balance of power in the region.

Korea ceased acting as a regional deterrent when the Qing Empire defeated it in 1637. For the first time in Korean history, the King of Korea formally surrendered to the foreign invader and swore obedience to the Qing. The Joseon Dynasty internally recovered from this defeat, continuing for another two centuries, but Korea lost its military influence in the region. Without Korea as a regional deterrent, the buffer between China and Japan disappeared. Japan waged war against China in 1894 and again in 1937, putting Northeast Asia through years of destructive war. After World War II, Korea was divided into the communist North and the capitalist South, which led to the outbreak of the Korean War. South Korea was at the forefront of East-West confrontations and helped to stop the spread of communism by defending itself from the communist North. The war may have ceased in 1953, but South Korea's struggle with communism did not; for decades, the country withstood continued pressure from North Korea, including numerous military incursions and infiltrations.

Politically, Korea supported a political hierarchy in Northeast Asia described as Sinocentrism.

1.1 Northeast Asia: Economic and Strategic Importance

1.1.1 Economic rise of Northeast Asia

Northeast Asia, the region that encompasses China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and the southeast corner of Russia, is one of the world's most economically dynamic and strategically important regions.

Within 1,200 kilometers of Seoul, South Korea, a distance that can be covered by less than two hours of flight time, lie three national capitals that command over 20 percent of the world's population and nearly a quarter of the world's economy. The region's economic importance is unquestionable: two of the world's three largest economies (China and Japan) and three of the world's 10 largest exporters (China, Japan, and South Korea) are located in this region. By the end of World War II, Northeast Asia was among the poorest regions in the world; much of it laid in ruin as a result of the war's destruction. However, starting with the economic recovery of Japan in the 1950s, rapid economic development and successful industrialization of the constituent countries have turned this region into the world's premier economic powerhouse. North Korea, under its socialist economic system, showed rapid economic growth until the 1970s, although it met economic struggles and has been on a decline since the 1990s. South Korea, with its successful economic development drive beginning in the 1960s, became an advanced, industrialized economy and a major trader by the 1990s. China, under Deng Xiaoping's leadership advocating the “socialist market economy,” has also achieved phenomenal economic growth since the 1980s, becoming the second largest economy, next only to the United States, by 2010. Figures 1.2 and 1.3 illustrate the economic growth of Northeast Asian countries (China, Japan, and South Korea) vis-à-vis the United States.

The region is now known as the factory of the world and a bastion of new technologies and innovations. In the traditional manufacturing areas, such as steel, automobile, shipbuilding, electronics (including semiconduc-tors), and chemical, Northeast Asian countries, particularly China, South Korea, and Japan, make up substantial shares of global production. By 2021, China, Japan, and South Korea produced over 61 percent of the world's steel supply, over 44 percent of the world's automobiles, and over 94 percent of all ships (in tonnage). For electronics, Northeast Asia is home to the world's top five consumer electronics companies, as measured by revenue.

3.1 The Rise of China: From a Historical Perspective

3.1.1 China and Northeast Asia in a historical context

Throughout history, China has maintained a dominant presence in Northeast Asia. Its size, massive population, unmatched resources, and profound cultural influence have largely defined the political, economic, and social dynamics of Northeast Asia. China went through a turbulent time since the mid-nineteenth century, enduring foreign invasions, a civil war, economic deprivation, and the destructive Cultural Revolution. However, since the late 1970s, China has undertaken economic reforms and achieved remarkable economic development, providing significant economic opportunities for all of the other constituent countries in Northeast Asia. China's successful economic development has also strengthened its global and regional political influence to the extent that its policies now have a profound impact on political, economic, and military dynamics in Northeast Asia. This chapter examines whether the rise of China in recent decades will lead to a new political paradigm for the region and how its political governance influences sustainable peace in Northeast Asia. The first part of the chapter discusses its historical context.

China's history reveals several important characteristics: continued expansion of its territorial, political, and cultural parameters; extraordinary capacity to endure foreign rule (when invaded and conquered); influence over foreign rulers and the ability to assimilate foreign conquerors; sustained domination through a combination of warfare and appeasement; and a strong drive to unify the Chinese states (when divided). Other great powers have shown some of these characteristics; for example, the United States underwent a civil war after disallowing the South to secede in 1861. However, in the case of China, these factors have worked to reinforce and sustain its control in the region. China's history demonstrates its immense expansion: an early Chinese state, the Zhou (周) Dynasty (1046 BC–256 BC), occupied a smaller part of present-day China as shown in Figure 3.1.

The Zhou Dynasty maintained a feudal system that allowed regional rulers’ substantial political autonomy and was split into several autonomous states. One of such autonomous states, the Qin Dynasty (秦, 9th century BC–206 BC), conquered the other Chinese states, creating the first Chinese Empire in 221 BC.

While the Qin's unification of China marks the beginning of China's history as East Asia's dominant power, it took another several centuries before China prevailed over Northeast Asia.

8.1 Deciphering the Historical, Cultural, Political, and Economic Codes of Northeast Asia

8.1.1 Contextual inquiry

Northeast Asia exhibits complex political, military, and economic dynamism that generates conflicts—often in a manner not easily comprehensible to those unaware of the region's historical, cultural, political, and economic contexts. For example, both South Korea and Japan are close U.S. allies, sharing common values, such as democracy, the rule of law, civil freedoms, and basic human rights. Both countries also form a cooperative security platform with the United States against North Korea (and potentially China and Russia), although South Korea and Japan are not officially “allies.” Yet, intense political and economic tensions have existed between South Korea and Japan over several issues including the comfort women issue, trade conflict (e.g., Japan's restrictive export measure imposed in response to the South Korean court order requiring compensation for forced labor during World War II), and the territorial dispute over the Dokdo Islands. Those who are not aware of the relevant contexts might wonder why two advanced Northeast Asian democracies and close U.S. allies—South Korea and Japan—have been unable to resolve these issues for several decades, creating intense ten-sions not only for themselves but also for the region.

Another example is the statement made by China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in his recent meeting with the South Korean foreign minister, reportedly calling the United States a rule breaker and suggesting that each country must stand up to the United States, when he must have known that South Korea, one of the closest U.S. allies, would be unlikely to join China in such an action. Again, for outsiders, Wang Yi's comment raises a contextual inquiry as to what relationship he presumed exists between South Korea and China that could take precedence over the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States. To understand these seemingly incomprehensible calls to action and long-standing tensions, it is necessary to identify and decipher the historical, political, cultural, and economic “codes” of Northeast Asia that cause, at times, unexpected moves affecting peace and stability in the region.

8.1.2 Nationalism and economic development

The first such code to decipher is “nationalism,” which promotes the interests of a nation (however it is defined) and its political independence. Historically, Korea, Mongolia, China, and Japan all strived for their national preservation and independence, often against each other.