Peace Treaty versus Democratic Peace as a Peace Building Measure in Northeast Asia

This paper compares and reviews the dissolution of wartime alliances and the promotion of democracy as a measure to build peace in Northeast Asia. First, since the Korean War remains in armistice without an official ending, a peace treaty to dismantle wartime alliances has been argued to establish a peace regime. Yet peace treaty is a doubleedged sword; although the treaty sometimes contributes to peace, it sometimes breaks down the deterrent of war and goes against peace. Second, democratic peace is a measure to establish a peace regime through the spread of democracy. Democratic peace, however, does not work in a simple manner. In order to pursue peace, democracy needs to be accompanied by the measure of historical peace that past affairs must be reconciled for peace. Shared values such as democracy and collective security will contribute to peace in Northeast Asia.