Middle Power National Identity? South Korea and Vietnam in US–China Geopolitics

The middle powers literature often conflates role identity (national self‐conception) of middle power states with role performance (foreign policies), while neglecting E ast A sia as a region of hypothesis generation and testing. Empirical studies of middle powers tend to consider E uropean cases, C anada, A ustralia and S outh A frica, while research on contemporary E ast A sia international relations focuses on great powers or the development of regional institutions. This article contributes to the middle powers literature by comparing the post‐Cold‐War national identities and foreign policies of S outh K orea and V ietnam. A framework for analyzing national identity is applied to major sources of national self‐conceptions in S eoul and H anoi. The article examines how identity trajectories relate to change in S outh K orea and V ietnam's geopolitical positioning between the U nited S tates and C hina, and assesses the prospects for middle power cooperation in E ast A sia.