Carl J. Saxer

Many have regarded the establishment of civilian and democratic control over the military as a necessary condition for the consolidation of a nascent democracy. Experience from third-wave democracies such as Chile and the Philippines shows us that, in order for democratic consolidation to be achieved, democratic control of the armed forces must be firmly established. Often these nascent democracies face the problem of how to deal with the legacy of the military and security service’s role in aut

List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations Acknowledgements Note on Romanization 1. Introduction 2. Division and Authoritarianism: Korea's Political Heritage, 1945-1985 3. The Democratic Transition 4. Deepening Democracy: The 'Era of Ordinary People' 5. Attempting Democratic Consolidation 6. Conclusion: Evaluating Democracy in Korea, 1987-1997 Bibliography

The article first analyses the critical events leading up to democratic transition in South Korea and then examines the choices made regarding the new democratic rules during autumn 1987. Earlier studies have focused mainly on the new rules themselves, but few have analyzed the actual crafting process. This study remedies that oversight as it investigates not only what lay behind the choices made regarding institutional crafting, but also how the new rules shaped the founding elections of the ne

Abstract This article examines the increased linkage between domestic and foreign policy that has been a consequence of democratization and globalization in Korea. It argues that while prior to 1987 foreign policy-making saw very little public input, and while democratization did not lead to a weakening of domestic political institutions nor a rise in nationalism, it did open up domestic political space where foreign policy-making increasingly became part of the contentious electoral competition

This article examines the formulation and implementation of the Segyehwa (globalization) policy in South Korea from 1993 to 2003. The policy was initially formulated and implemented by the Kim Young-sam government (1993–1998). The article argues that while much of the focus, when it comes globalization, tends to emphasize economic issues, the main goal of the state initated Segyehwa policy was to enhance the South Korea’s global position in both economic and political terms. Taking a qualitative

While the Korea–United States (KORUS) free-trade agreement negotiations were concluded in 2007, and ratified in 2011, the agreement has remained deeply controversial. Labor unions, civil society groups, and opposition politicians in South Korea have criticized the agreement as being unfair, and also in the United States have voices spoken out against the agreement. The process of negotiation by South Korea was deeply flawed, and the conclusion of the agreement, that included a unilateral ratific

The 2002 presidential election in South Korea was seen by some commentators as
 a 'generational earthquake'. It was argued that younger voters, defi ned as those
 belonging to the 20–30 age groups, had become more mobilized and active than
 in any previous election, and that consequently the persistent regionalism that
 had characterized South Korean national elections for so long was fi nally at an
 end. It was also claimed that the 2002 election marked a repositioning

Korea was in 1994 one of the first countries to introduce a government-led globalization (segyehwa) policy. The inducement of foreign direct investment (FDI) was a major component of the economic dimension of this policy. This was a radical shift in government policy as Korea during its economic take-off saw FDI more as a threat to the ability of the state to direct economic development, than as potentially benefiting the country. However, since 1994, and in particular since the crisis in the la

The article analyses the 2020 National Assembly election in South Korea. It was the first legislative election held after President Park Geun-hye had been successfully impeached, and removed from office, in March 2017. The 2020 election was also the first election after important changes to the electoral law were made in 2019. These changes retained the low level of proportionality of the electoral system, but now allowed parties to establish so-called satellite parties only running for proporti

Many have seen the establishment of civilian and democratic control over the military as a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for the consolidation of a nascent democracy. The establishment of civilian and democratic control over the military in South Korea was a long and, some would argue, uncompleted process. A coup in 1961 led by Park Chung-hee, a major-general, led to the establishment of an authoritarian regime that, while going civilian, was based on the control of the military

DOROTHY H. CRAWFORD. Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped Our History. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. xiv, 250. $35.95 (US). Reviewed by Linda Bryder GREGORY CLARK. A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World. Princeton, NJ and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2007. Pp. xii, 420. $29.95 (US). JUDITH HERRIN. Byzantium: The Surprising Life oj a Medieval Empire. Princeton, NJ and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2008. Pp. xxiii, 391. $29.95 (US). Reviewed by