Democratization and Democracy in South Korea, 1960–Present

"This is a perfect one-country study: deeply engaged in the theoretical and comparative literature, intimately informed about South Korean history, bringing to bear some unknown aspects of the case. A major contribution to studies of authoritarianism and of transitions to democracy. --Adam Przeworski, Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor Emeritus, Department of Politics, New York University, USA This book analyses democratization and democracy in South Korea since 1960. The book starts with an analysis of the distinctive characteristics of bureaucratic authoritarianism and how democratic transition had been possible after inconclusive and protracted "tug of war" between authoritarian regime and democratic opposition. It then goes on to explore what the opportunities and constraints to the new democracy are to be a consolidated democracy, how new democracy had changed the industrial relations in the post-transition period, how premodern political culture such as Confucian patrimonialism and familism had obstructed democratic consolidation, and the improvement of quality of democracy. The author compares empirically, from the perspective of a comparative political scientist, political regime superiority of democracy over authoritarianism with regard to economic development. He concludes that "democratic incompetence" theory has been proven wrong and, in South Korea, democracy has performed better than authoritarian regimes in terms of economic growth with equity, employment, distribution of income, trade balance, and inflation. This book will benefit political scientists, development economists, labor economists, religious sociologists, military sociologists, and historians focusing on East Asian history. Hyug Baeg Im is a professor emeritus at Korea University and a chaired professor at GIST. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, USA. He served as an EC member of IPSA and received ROK National Academy of Sciences Prize. Prof. Im's rece nt publications includeThe Possibility of Peace in the Korean Peninsula (2017) and Mongering North Korean Democracy for Inter-Korean Peace (2015)."--Résumé de l'éditeur This is a perfect one-country study: deeply engaged in the theoretical and comparative literature, intimately informed about South Korean history, bringing to bear some unknown aspects of the case. A major contribution to studies of authoritarianism and of transitions to democracy. --Adam Przeworski, Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor Emeritus, Department of Politics, New York University, USA This book analyses democratization and democracy in South Korea since 1960. The book starts with an analysis of the distinctive characteristics of bureaucratic authoritarianism and how democratic transition had been possible after inconclusive and protracted "tug of war" between authoritarian regime and democratic opposition. It then goes on to explore what the opportunities and constraints to the new democracy are to be a consolidated democracy, how new democracy had changed the industrial relations in the post-transition period, how premodern political culture such as Confucian patrimonialism and familism had obstructed democratic consolidation, and the improvement of quality of democracy. The author compares empirically, from the perspective of a comparative political scientist, political regime superiority of democracy over authoritarianism with regard to economic development. He concludes that "democratic incompetence" theory has been proven wrong and, in South Korea, democracy has performed better than authoritarian regimes in terms of economic growth with equity, employment, distribution of income, trade balance, and inflation. This book will benefit political scientists, development economists, labor economists, religious sociologists, military sociologists, and historians focusing on East Asian history. Hyug Baeg Im is a professor emeritus at Korea University and a chaired professor at GIST. He received his M.A. and Ph. D. from the University of Chicago, USA. He served as an EC member of IPSA and received ROK National Academy of Sciences Prize. Prof. Im's rece nt publications includeThe Possibility of Peace in the Korean Peninsula (2017) and Mongering North Korean Democracy for Inter-Korean Peace (2015) Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Introduction: My Democratization Studies in Retrospect (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 1-15 Front Matter ....Pages 17-17 The Rise of Bureaucratic Authoritarianism in South Korea (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 19-48 Recasting Park Chung Hee’s Authoritarianism: Myths, Reality and Legacies (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 49-74 Politics of Democratic Transition from Authoritarian Rule in South Korea (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 75-94 Christian Churches and Democratization in South Korea (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 95-115 Front Matter ....Pages 117-117 Democratic Consolidation in South Korea: Opportunities and Constraints (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 119-157 From Affiliation to Association: The Challenge of Democratic Consolidation in Korean Industrial Relations (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 159-181 Faltering Democratic Consolidation in South Korea: Democracy at the End of the Three Kims Era (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 183-204 Development and Change of Korean Democracy Since the Democratic Transition of 1987: The Three Kims’ Politics and After (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 205-231 Front Matter ....Pages 233-233 Democratic Development and Authoritarian Development Compared (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 235-272 Better Democracy, Better Economic Growth? South Korea (Hyug Baeg Im)....Pages 273-298 Back Matter ....Pages 299-319