Entre Dokdo e Takeshima: uma análise comparativa do nacionalismo sul-coreano e japonês na reivindicação dos Rochedos de Liancourt

Abstract

This dissertation conducts an analysis of the nationalist narratives present in South Korea and Japan, focusing on perspectives regarding the Dokdo/Takeshima rocks. The aim of this study is to understand how the governments of Japan and South Korea claim sovereignty over the rocks and how nationalist narratives influence these actions in the region. Unlike geopolitical and material arguments, the territorial claims in this work are questioned and analyzed as nationalist actions by both countries, which are also fundamental in the construction of their respective nationalist narratives. Using a process tracing methodology focused on outcomes, the main objective of this research is to compare South Korean and Japanese nationalism concerning Dokdo/Takeshima from the 2010s onwards and to observe how these nationalisms are applied to the claims over the Dokdo/Takeshima rocks. By identifying South Korea's proposals and actions regarding the rocks during the governments of Lee Myung Bak, Park Geun Hye, and Moon Jae In, as well as Japan's during the governments of Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan, Yoshihiko Noda, Shinzo Abe, and Suga Yoshihide, it was possible to observe that actions regarding Dokdo/Takeshima follow discernible patterns in both South Korea and Japan. On the South Korean side, sovereignty over the islands is a unanimous position among political parties and presidents, regardless of their ideological affiliations, and actions are mainly divided into (i) reinforcement of nationalist narratives, (ii) political gains, and (iii) reactions to Japanese government moves in the region. On the Japanese side, while there is also a consensus on the islands' ownership, the actions vary depending on the ruling party at the time. Under the Democratic Japanese Party, there are more reactive movements in response to South Korea and the movements of Shimane Prefecture. Under the Liberal Democratic Party, there is a tendency toward a more assertive alignment with Shimane's actions and unilateral measures tied to nationalist and revisionist narratives that they promote.