Since the late 1980s, I have benefited immensely from interacting with leading members of the academic and policymaking communities in Asia, the United States, and Europe, since they have deepened and clarified my thinking on key regional and global security issues. I would like to express my appreciation to my colleagues at the Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. I am grateful to Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at Carnegie, who enabled me to become a nonresident senior associate and for kindly agreeing to publish this book. I am indebted to four external reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions, but all the interpretations and errors in the following pages are solely my own.
It was a pleasure to work with an outstanding publications and communications team at Carnegie, and I am especially thankful to Rebecca N. White, Jocelyn Soly, Samuel Brase, and Cooper Hewell. The book was improved immensely by Marcia Kramer’s thoughtful editing. Nahee Kim and Dohee Kim provided indispensable research assistance. I am grateful to my father Chang Hee Lee and my late mother Shim Jun Cho as well as Chuly, Hyangly, Timothy, Tanya, and Andreas, and especially to my wife Min Jeong and our daughter Jean Hee for their love and support. I would like to also express my gratitude to Choi Jong Moon, Lee Seok Soo, Robert Kinn, Don Brown, Ariel Levite, and Charles Perry for their unconditional friendship. I am dedicating this book to Thérèse Delpech, who was one of France’s most astute strategic thinkers and a truly loyal friend.