Search

This paper views seeking the optimal balance between state strengths and the scope of state functions for "good governance" as the formation of a homogenization-heterogenization matrix of policy initiatives in different social settings. Homogenization refers to a global tendency for institutional changes and governance framework to change state capacity, while heterogenization refers to the local adaptation of these global transformations. The paper attempts to take educational decentralization as an example of policy initiatives to assess and analyse the significance of the two opposite poses in four East Asian newly industrialized economies (NIEs) (Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan). The paper's position is that it may be useful to see these four NIEs as making up two clusters. It sees political democratic transitions in Korea and Taiwan as important local factors affecting the developments of educational decentralization in the two societies, while reforms in Hong Kong and Singapore seem to be more consequences of managerial and market values. However, the NIEs face the question of how to maintain sufficient "stateness" in the decentralization process. To conclude, the paper considers that achieving the balance of "stateness" is the key to success in state-building.

In this paper, I consider the transitions of Taiwan and South Korea to democracy. Specifically, I study why citizens in these newly democratic systems engage in conventional forms of participation as an indicator of consolidation. Using much of the existing literature on participation, I test hypotheses that frame the decisions to participate through conventional forms as a function of internal feelings of efficacy, or political engagement, mobilization by parties and social capital. I use a series of hierarchical linear models to assess Waves 2 and 3 data from the 2005–2010 Asian Barometer and find considerable support for political engagement, party attachment, and social connections in spurring on participation. In addition, while respondents offer limited support for democratic institutions, they espouse liberal attitudes; this reflects the large presence of “critical citizens” in these places (Norris 1999; Chu and Huang 2010). Though fragile, there are indications of meaningful democratic progress in Taiwan and South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explains the difference between Korea's vocal movements and feeble parties versus Taiwan's stable parties and dependent movements from the political dynamics formed under the authoritarian state. Taiwan's party-based authoritarianism provided ground for party development but not for independent social movements. Korea's personal dictatorship was inimical to party development but engendered a contentious movement sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Teorija in Praksa is the property of Teorija in Praksa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses East Asian democracies and a reported increase in income inequality in South Korea and Taiwan as of September 2012, focusing on an analysis of the cross-national differences between the inequality issue in both countries since the 1990s. The impact of income distribution on a country's economic development is addressed, along with an analysis of reported increase in wage inequality in most of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Labor power and market inequality are also mentioned.

The article presents a study on the civil-military relations in five East Asian democracies which are Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The authors describe civilian control as the distribution of power between elected civilian authorities and military leaders in which civilians can make decisions without influence from the military. They state that civilian control means more than the absence of a military intervention.

This analysis of the institutional design and actual performance of constitutional review in five newly democratized nations in East Asia shows that during the last two decades the judiciary has come to play an increasingly important political role in South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia. Constitutional courts in these three countries are more active in counterbalancing executive and legislative power than ever before. This however contrasts with the experiences of Thailand and Mongolia where constitutional courts were unable to fulfill a similar function. The discussion for potential explanations for this cross-national variance in court performance supports the critique in parts of the scholarly literature against purely institutional, cultural and structural explanations. Rather, the degree of political uncertainty and diffusion of political power are critical determinants for understanding why politicians comply with court judgments, or attempt to marginalize justices. In addition, the relationship between institutional support, compliance and the area of judicial review matters. In this regard, one lesson of the East Asian comparison is that a too early introduction of review of separation of power conflicts could actually make things worse, by threatening the court's authority and marginalizing its influence. This represents a danger often neglected in the democratization literature that claims judicial control of horizontal accountability mechanisms would necessarily help to consolidate democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, I assess whether administrative procedural openness, via administrative procedure acts (APAs) enhances public confidence in the civil service. I argue that APAs increase governmental transparency, predictability and accountability. Consequently, APAs ought to enhance public confidence in a country's democratic institutions, ceteris paribus. To substantiate this prediction, I investigate trends, pre- and post-APA passage, in the attitudes of Korean citizens regarding their country's democracy in general and civil service in particular (as well as with a second, brief case study of Taiwan). The evidence supports my argument both cross-sectionally and over time, suggesting that passage of Korea's APA laws in the mid-1990s did enhance the Koreans' confidence in their country's civil service. Attitudes toward the bureaucracy, in turn, are powerful predictors of satisfaction with Korea's democracy, measured both absolutely and relative to attitudes toward the state of the nation 10 years prior. Several key findings replicate for Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relation between globalization and democratization on school governance reforms in Taiwan and South Korea. The article describes government and societal approaches to the decentralization of educational management and school improvement programs in the 1990s. It explains how Taiwan has succeeded in empowering teachers and school administrators to provide educational change, innovation, and planning for the nation's school programs while South Korea continues to struggle to empower the school community.

This article addresses the codification of formal rules and procedures of governance through Administrative Procedure Acts (APAs). The recent enactment of APAs in two new democracies, South Korea and Taiwan, highlights an apparent paradox. Because administrative reform limits the executive's power, it is clear why legislatures in separation-of-power systems would favour APAs. But it is less clear why presidents would support them. Why would a president accept a law designed to restrict her ability to act freely? The answer is that presidents have agency problems too. The more intra-branch conflict they face during their administrations, the more likely they will support administrative reform. Thus, instead of tying the hands of future administrations, presidents also use APAs to overcome current control problems. Three recently democratized East Asian countries, two with APAs (South Korea and Taiwan) and one without (Philippines), support this 'reining in' theory. Conflict within the executive branch may be an important ingredient in democratic consolidation. APAs result from political struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay centers on the role of Christian organizations in the consolidation of democracy in the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan as a preliminary study in advance of longer-term exploration of how religious organizations of all persuasions have influenced or abdicated from the ongoing development of democracy once it has become the norm in East Asian nations. In light of the dearth of data concerning the roles of Asian religious institutions in the consolidation of democracy in East Asia, the authors limit the essay to the development of a conceptual framework, referencing the three cases above, to be used for future studies. The Philippines, where the Roman Catholic Church remains active in political causes relative to the other two cases, serves as the framework's control case, against which South Korea and Taiwan, the experimental cases, are compared. The essay asserts that East Asian religious institutions are a case of exceptionalism, based on two arguments. The first is that, when comparing East Asian religious institutions to counterparts elsewhere, they have been the last ones to enter the political arena and the first ones to retreat from it. The second argument is that East Asian religious organizations do not press their potential political weight in normal politics because (1) social, political, and economic conditions of the respective countries dissuade religious organizations' ongoing engagement in politics, or (2) they have a strong inclination to remain remote from politics—or perhaps because of both circumstances. The essay presents evidence of ‘episodic’ involvement of the Roman Catholic Church in politics in the Philippines, and of the ‘transient’ nature of the involvement of religious organizations in South Korea and Taiwan. Further, it reveals that, while the ‘transient’ nature of religious organizations' influence in normal politics is less apparent in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, it is in evidence in these areas of East Asia, also. The essay draws a striking comparison between religious institutions elsewhere and those in East Asia by considering the ability of religious organizations in the Middle East, Africa, the United States, Europe, and Latin America to remain engaged in the political sphere and to influence political attitudes and outcomes. It concludes that, in contrast, the political agendas of East Asian religious organizations have been more specifically defined and circumscribed, and their involvement in politics has been less intense and more transient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses the extent of normative commitment to democracy among the public in East Asia. The authors discuss to what extent do citizens in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand and Hong Kong support democracy as a system of government as measured by overtly favorable orientations toward democracy. It indicates that except for South Korea and Japan most East Asian democratic countries do not enjoy a deep legitimization. The authors observed that authoritarianism remains a rough competitor to democracy in the region.

Democratic transition and institutional change do not necessarily guarantee greater political inclusion, particularly when it comes to the policy influence of civil society groups. Rather, political inclusiveness requires strategic adaptation among societal actors. Actors need to seize upon opportunities endemic to political change. This article provides a comparative analysis of health care reform in democratizing Taiwan and South Korea, focusing on two social movement coalitions, the National Health Insurance Coalition in Taiwan and Korea's Health Solidarity. Both movement coalitions were critical in shaping welfare reform trajectories in Taiwan and South Korea during the late 1990s, despite having been shut out from earlier episodes of health care reform. I argue that these groups (1) strategically adjusted their mobilization strategies to fit specific political and policy contexts, (2) benefited from broad-based coalition building, and (3) effectively framed the issue of social welfare in ways that gained these movements ideational leverage, which was particularly significant given the marginal place of leftist ideas in the postwar East Asian developmental state model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how democratic transition has shaped leftist politics in Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil, and Chile. On one hand, the new left has positioned itself differently in the two regions, specifically in terms of when the left emerged (or reemerged) onto the political scene and how it has organized politically. On the other hand, new left forces in both regions have moderated their political tactics and ideological demands. This article contends that the new left has had to adapt to new political contexts. Divergence in new left politics can be explained by variations in the pacing of democratic reform, the institutional basis of democratic breakthrough, and salient cleavage structures. Yet the imperatives of democratic competition--irrespective of the specific mode of transition--have compelled the new left in both regions to similarly moderate their political tactics and transformative demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]