Seoul must update view of shifting US policy world

For many Koreans, the United States still lives in memory as a coherent giant — a country with a long-term, unified strategy, fixed institutions and continuity in foreign policy. This framework was created in the 1990s and early 2000s, when Washington’s decision-makers generally spoke with one voice, and alliance commitments were anchored in shared values and a common vision rather than political whims. Fast forward to 2025. The U.S. policy world seems more splintered, and perhaps even more pluralistic. While U.S. power has not vanished, what’s changed are the pathways through which it flows — increasingly distributed across institutions, shaped by various interests and incentives and articulated through a more diverse range of actors. One strategic challenge Seoul faces in the alliance might be its view of Washington as unified, predictable and internally cohesive. This mindset, while not entirely flawed, does not entirely capture the reality of U.S. decision-making today. And such misunderstanding comes at a cost. For decades, Korea viewed U.S. power through a relatively stablWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times