Political Change in Korea

책 소개

Preface Political Change in Korea is the third book in the “Insight into Korea” series published by The Korea Herald, Korea’s leading English-language newspaper. This volume features 35 essays written by top Korean political scientists. They were published in the paper between December 2007 and May 2008. Political Change in Korea is intended to help readers better understand the changes that have transformed the Korean political landscape since June 1987. Twenty-one years ago today, democratic forces in Korea, led by students and workers, staged a massive uprising against the military dictatorship. That historic event set in motion a democratization process that has propelled Korea from authoritarianism to a liberal democracy. Korea’s transition to a vibrant democracy has been hailed by many foreign analysts. They favorably assess Korea, in contrast to other countries which have suffered under dictators. Indeed, Korea is regarded as a model, for it has achieved the twin goals of democratic development and rapid economic growth. But many analysts also note that Korea’s political development lags behind its economic progress. Some describe Korea as a country with a First World economy and Third World politics. Lamenting Korea’s political underdevelopment, a Korean business tycoon famously said Korea had a second-class economy, a third-class government, and fourth-class politics. Most contributors to this book approach Korean politics from a critical perspective. While acknowledging the progress which Korea has made in democratizing, at the same time, they point out that there is a long road ahead in attaining a full-fledged liberal democracy. One major achievement of this country during the past two decades is its consolidation of procedural democracy. So, the writers in this collection focus on the reformation of the electoral system to show how Korea has successfully conducted a series of free and fair elections since 1987. This volume also highlights Korea’s continued efforts to reform political parties and stabilize party politics. Political parties are the most important institution in parliamentary democracy, as they are the primary vehicles for the articulation and aggregation of interests. But Korea is notorious for its highly unstable political parties. Some analysts even say that few democracies in the world come close to the instability and volatility of the Korean party system. Many of the pieces in this volume identify and discuss the main factors which make Korean party politics volatile─regionalism, personalism, electoral systems, a narrow ideological spectrum and, most importantly, the low level of institutionalization that characterizes political parties. They also suggest ways to make the political process more stable and predictable. Several authors draw attention to the threats which Korea’s poorly functioning party politics pose to parliamentary democracy. The operation of the National Assembly is frequently disrupted by the inability of political parties to reach a compromise on contentious issues. Scholars note that these Assembly deadlocks cause disgruntled civil society organizations to engage in politics, without the intermediation of political parties and the parliament. A related theme dealt with here is the influence of Korea’s pervasive information technology in politics. Some writers show how Korea’s extensive IT infrastructure enhances direct democracy. Young people using the internet can have a huge political influence, as has been demonstrated by the recent protests against the resumption of U.S. beef imports. Through the internet, they can set their own agenda and drum up support for their causes. Political Change in Korea covers many other important themes, including women’s participation in politics, people’s voting behavior, the rise of civil society, the role of the media in Korean politics, and the relations between the political and judicial spheres. This book would not have been able to…

리뷰 남기기

로그인하면 리뷰를 남길 수 있어요.

리뷰 0개