Effects of a Threat and Alliance on International Cooperation: Comparison of Inter-Korean and Turkish-Armenian Railway Projects

The article examines restricting factors in international cooperation, drawing a comparative analysis of two cases on cross-border infrastructure projects: the Gyeongui railway line that connects North and South Korea and the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway line that links Turkey and Armenia. In both cases, states involved strive for the normalization of diplomatic relations and border openness as well as potential economic opportunities and national security. Nevertheless, neither Seoul and Pyongyang nor Ankara and Yerevan succeeded in building a sustainable cooperation framework. While the outcome is the same, independent variables in both cases are different. Firstly, two Koreas have been in a military confrontation for seven decades, whereas Turkey and Armenia never engaged in a direct conflict. Secondly, the configuration of alliances (South Korea and the United States and Turkey and Azerbaijan) weakens the decision-making on the troublesome infrastructure projects. Consequently, alliances are identified as one the key factors that determine the mode of international cooperation.