In examining why the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) pursues nuclear weapons, this study focuses on Pyongyang's consistent demand for normalization of relations with Washington. The primary aims of this study are 1) to study the significance of normalization of relations with Washington as an alternative to nuclear weapon development in the DPRK, 2) to investigate potential causal relationships between Pyongyang's policy choices and Pyongyang's expectation for normalization of relations with Washington, and 3) to examine whether culturally sensitive behavior significantly influences Pyongyang's policy decisions. To understand the significance of normalization of relations and the meaning of Pyongyang's behavior, this study depends heavily on cultural perspectives. In this study, two independent variables are examined for their effects on Pyongyang's policy, 1) Pyongyang's expectation for normalization of relations with Washington, and 2) the alignment of Washington's policy with Pyongyang's cultural code. Two hypotheses emerge from these two factors: first, when Pyongyang had high expectations for normalization of relations with Washington, Pyongyang was more likely to choose engagement policies and give less priority to pursuit of nuclear weapons; and second, the more Washington's policies harmonized with Pyongyang's cultural code, the more Pyongyang cooperated with Washington. Using case studies and discourse analysis, this study examines four periods from 1991 to 2011. Interviews with North Korean defectors and with South Korean experts complement this study of expectation and cultural meaning. The study concludes, first, that normalization of relations with Washington appeared to Pyongyang as a viable alternative to nuclear weapon development in providing a security guarantee and national dignity. Second, during most periods, Pyongyang appeared to believe that it was highly dependent on nuclear weapons for its regime survival when it could not expect the benefits of improved relations with Washington. By the same token, Pyongyang's regime survival seemed less dependent on nuclear weapons when it could expect improved relations with Washington. At some times, however, Pyongyang practiced confrontation as a way to improve domestic stability. But usually high context diplomacy by the United States elicited positive responses.

Ethiopia and Eritrea shared a long-standing turbulent relation where amity and enmity replace one another over the course of history. The Ethiopia and Eritrea border war (1998-2000) and its aftermath stalemate (2000-2018) affected not merely the political economy of Ethiopia and Eritrea, but also undermined the prosperity and stability of the Horn of Africa region. The signing of the Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship on 9 July 2018, at Asmara, Eritrea culminated two decades-long Ethiopia and Eritrean impasse and offers glimmers hope and optimism that the repaired Ethiopia and Eritrea relations would have a positive snowballing effects in the Horn of Africa region. Drawing on neorealism (defensive) theory, this dissertation explores the 2018 thawed Ethiopia and Eritrean diplomatic relations, and its geopolitical ramifications in the Horn of Africa. This dissertation is based on multiple data sources. The primary data sources were collected through key informant in-depth interview with twelve (12) purposively selected pertinent experts, career diplomats, senior analysts, and university professors. This dissertation also made use of a wide range of primary sources including joint press releases of Ethiopia and Eritrean governments, the communiqué, memos, minutes of two countries’ leaders, remarks by ministry foreign affairs of the two countries, proceedings, and the official agreements of the two countries. The secondary data sources were collected from books, book chapters, journal articles, web sources, and think-tank reports. A Hermeneutics approach was employed to interpret and analyze data originated from both primary and secondary sources. This dissertation found that the unprecedented thawing of Ethiopia and Eritrea's diplomatic relations is underpinned by the interplay of domestic political development (political reforms in Ethiopia), regional factors (recalibration of regional order in the Horn of Africa), and international developments (shift of the US-Horn of Africa policy priority and dwindling of the US presence in the Horn of Africa region which facilitated the incursion other actors in the region). This dissertation also unveils that, the reignited Ethiopia and Eritrea diplomatic relations upended geopolitical order and ushered new dawn in the Horn of Africa. The reignited Ethiopia and Eritrea diplomatic relations repaired frozen relations, bridged the divides, diluted regional tension, and recalibrated new regional order. This dissertation also claims that the initial gains short-lived and reversed with eruption the Tigray War (2020-2022) where Ethiopia and Eritrea peace accord played prompting role.:Table of Contents Acknowledgement i Abstract ii List of Abbreviations iii Lists to Maps vi Chapter One 1 Introduction 1 1.1. Background of The Study 1 1.2. State of The Art 6 1.3. Research Objectives 10 1.3.1. General Research Objective 10 1.3.2. Specific Research Objectives 10 1.4. Research Questions 10 1.4.1. General Research Question 10 1.4.2. Specific Research Questions 10 1.5. Materials and Methods 11 1.5.1. Research Design 11 1.5.2. Data Sources 11 1.5.3. Data Collection Tools 12 1.5.4. Sampling Technique 15 1.5.5. Data Analysis Approach 16 1.6. Theoretical Framework 17 1.7. Ethical Consideration 21 1.8. Structure of The Dissertation 22 Chapter Two 23 Brief History of the Geopolitics of the Horn of Africa (1945-1998): Historiographical Reflections 23 2.1. Introduction 23 2.2. The Geopolitics of the Horn of Africa During the Cold War (1945-1989) 27 2.2.1. The Superpowers Rivalry in the Horn of Africa and its Geopolitical Ramifications 31 2.3. The Geopolitics of the Horn of Africa Region After the Cold War (1989-1998): Temporary Disruption of the strategic significance? 34 2.4. Summary of The Chapter 36 Chapter Three 41 Ethiopia and Eritrean Relation (1952-2018): Historiographical Perspective 41 3.1. Introduction 41 3.2. The Ethiopia and Eritrean Federation (1952-1962): Genesis and Abrogation 43 3.3. The Joint Liberation Struggle of the Eritrea People’s Liberation Front and Tigray People’s Liberation Front: Comrades-in-Combatants (1975-1991) 51 3.4. The Ethiopia and Eritrea Troubled Relations: Cooperation, Competition and War (1993–2000) 58 3.5. Ethio-Eritrean ‘No peace, No war’ Condition: Horn Africa’s Cold War? (2000-2018) 67 3.6. Summary of the Chapter 71 Chapter Four 73 The Effects of Ethiopian and Eritrean Stalemate Relations in the Horn of Africa Region 73 4.1. Introduction 73 4.2. The Ethiopia and Eritrean Stalemate Relations and its Geopolitical Ramifications in the Horn of Africa (2000-2018). 81 4.3. The Ethiopia and Eritrea Stalemate Relations and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Reaction 90 4.4. Ethiopia and Eritrea Stalemate Relations and African Union (AU) Intervention 97 4.5. The Ethiopia and Eritrean stalemate Relations and the United Nations (UN) Intervention 106 4.6. Summary of the Chapter 111 Chapter Five 116 Reset? Changing Nature of the Ethiopia and Eritrea Relations (2018-2023) 116 5.1. Introduction 116 5.2. Political Reforms in Ethiopia and Shift in the Ethiopian Foreign Policy Since April 2018 118 5.3. How? The Diplomacy Behind the Scenes: Shift in the Geopolitics of the Horn of Africa, Red Sea and Beyond 131 5.4. Summary of the Chapter 145 Chapter Six 150 Finding a New Equilibrium: The Political Economy of the Ethiopia and Eritrean Diplomatic Rapprochement (2018-2023) 150 6.1. Introduction 150 6.2. New Equilibrium? Reconfiguration of Regional Order in the Horn of Africa 153 6.2.1. New Regionalism? Horn of Africa Cooperation (HoAC) and Geopolitical Ramification in the Horn of Africa 159 6.3. The Tigray War and Thawing of Ethiopia and Eritrea Relations 168 6.3.1. Tigray War and The Involvement External Actors 174 6.3.2. The Tigray War and its Geopolitical Ramifications in the Horn of Africa 187 6.4. Back to Square One? Post Pretoria Truce Ethiopia and Eritrea Stalemate Relations 192 6.5. Summary of the Chapter 203 Chapter Seven 207 Envisioning New Geopolitics of Horn of Africa: Quo Vadis Ethiopia and Eritrea Relations? 207 7.1. Introduction 207 7.2. Repaired Ethiopia and Eritrea Relation: International Community and Public Mixed Reception 209 7.3. Rapprochement of Diplomatic Relation of Ethiopia and Eritrea: Hurdles and Bottlenecks 217 7.3.1. Border Dispute Demarcation 218 7.3.2. Ideological and Historical Disparities 222 7.3.3. Institutional Imbalances and Economic Asymmetry 224 7.3.4. Highly Personalized and Institutional Backstopping Defies 226 7.3.5. Internal Political Challenges in Both Countries 228 7.4. Ethiopia and Eritrea’s Fragile Relation: Between Cold Peace and Shadow of War 231 7.4.1. Teetering Ethiopia and Eritrea Relation and Geopolitical Dynamics in the Horn of Africa 236 7.5. Summary of the Chapter 241 Chapter Eight 245 Conclusions and Recommendations 245 8.1. Introduction 245 8.2. Conclusions 246 8.3. Recommendations 257 8.4. Contribution of Dissertation 259 9. References 261 9.1. Books/ Book Chapters 261 9.2. MA/PhD Dissertation and Working Papers 272 9.3. Journal Articles 288 9.4. Web Sources 317 10. Appendixes 381 10.1. Interview Guide Questions 381 10.2. List of Interviewees for key informant interview, Affiliation, and Interview date 384 10.3. Cooperation Letter 385