Explaining the Coexistence of Globalization and Nationalism in East Asia

Even with high levels of globalization and cultural exchange, nationalisms continue to significantly affect international relations in East Asia. While each of the opposite extremes of globalization theory ? hyperglobalists and skeptics ? views globalization and nationalism as contradictory terms, both globalization and nationalism are strong in the region. How are the two forces coexisting? This study constructs an analytical framework that examines the relationship between globalization and nationalism using the case of Hallyu. I argue that globalization and nationalism mutually reinforce each other, and explain the dynamic interplay of such effects on transnational, state, regional, and interstate levels. Integrating approaches on globalization, nationalism, and culture across disciplines of political science, communication, and sociology, I specify the relationship between variables and offer a way of empirically analyzing the claims of globalization theories, which are still in their early stages of theorization.