Constitutional Politics

Author(s):  
Won-Taek Kang

In 1948, the Constitution was enacted by the Constitutional National Assembly, and a presidential system was adopted. But it was a hybrid system with both presidential and parliamentary system elements. Even though nine constitutions have been promulgated since then, this characteristic has remained fundamentally unchanged. Under the authoritarian regimes, the dictators forcibly revised the Constitution to strengthen their power and extend their terms of office. Constitutional politics, then, was fraught with serious conflict. South Korea was democratized in 1987, and the Constitution was democratically revised accordingly. The most important thing in this new Constitution was the restoration of the popularly elected presidential system. But the 1987 Constitution was modelled on the 1962 Constitution, and does not fit well with today’s democratized and diverse Korean society. The need to decentralize the authority and power of central government is another reason for constitutional reform.

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 54-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Woo Park ◽  
Mike Thelwall ◽  
Randolph Kluver

As the Internet has become a more important source of information for citizens and consumers, politicians in a number of nations have employed the Web as a tool to facilitate contact with constituents and supporters. One of the least understood phenomena in the new ecology of political communication, however, is the use of hyperlinks to build public recognition, to demarcate ideological spaces and to reflect political alliances. The purpose of this paper is to examine the political hyperlinks established by the National Assembly members in South Korea, in order to ascertain their functions. This paper examines the communicative agendas of politicians as represented by their (out)linking practices. Hyperlink data obtained from the homepages of South Korea's National Assembly members during June of 2003 was collected. A hyperlink network analysis revealed that outlinks to political parties were the most common type of link. The next most preferred target websites were those maintained by the National Assembly, local governments such as city hall, and central government bodies, including Ministries. Websites rarely hyperlinked to civic and advocacy groups compared to other categories. In summary, there were more navigational outlinks for informative content than ideological affiliations. The results are discussed from the perspective of Asian values underlying political communication as well as online culture. Finally, this study performs an important role in contributing to the small but growing literature on how the Internet is affecting the practices of nations outside of the established democracies of the West.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peshraw Mohammed Ameen

In this research we dealt with the aspects of the presidential system and the semi-presidential system, and he problematic of the political system in the Kurdistan Region. Mainly The presidential system has stabilized in many important countries, and the semi-presidential concept is a new concept that can be considered a mixture of parliamentary and presidential principles. One of the features of a semi-presidential system is that the elected president is accountable to parliament. The main player is the president who is elected in direct or indirect general elections. And the United States is a model for the presidential system, and France is the most realistic model for implementing the semi-presidential system. The French political system, which lived a long period under the traditional parliamentary system, introduced new adjustments in the power structure by strengthening the powers of the executive authority vis-à-vis Parliament, and expanding the powers of the President of the Republic. In exchange for the government while remaining far from bearing political responsibility, and therefore it can be said that the French system has overcome the elements of the presidential system in terms of objectivity and retains the elements of the parliamentary system in terms of formality, so it deserves to be called the semi-presidential system. Then the political system in the Kurdistan Region is not a complete parliamentary system, and it is not a presidential system in light of the presence of a parliament with powers. Therefore, the semi-presidential system is the most appropriate political system for this region, where disputes are resolved over the authority of both the parliament and the regional president, and a political system is built stable. And that because The presence of a parliamentary majority, which supports a government based on a strategic and stable party coalition, which is one of the current problems in the Kurdistan region. This dilemma can be solved through the semi-presidential system. And in another hand The impartiality of the head of state in the relationship with the government and parliament. The head of state, with some relations with the government, can participate in legislative competencies with Parliament.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Seungeun Lee (李承恩)

This article explores three Chinese immigrant groups in South Korea. South Korean society characterizes itself with a long-held traditional myth of being a homogenous society. Two waves of migrants from China, however, challenged this myth. The earlier wave took place in the late 19thcentury. The recent, new, wave of Chinese migration took place in the last three decades and coincidently right before and after the normalization of relations between the People’s Republic of China (prc) and South Korea in 1992. Due to the rise of China and the changing dynamics of inter-Asian migration, new migrants from theprcsince the 1990s have changed the demographic composition of foreign citizens in Korea.These new migrants from theprcare mostly ethnic Han (prcChinese), but some are ethnic Korean (Korean Chinese) who holdprccitizenship. Most previous studies have focused on either old (earlier) Chinese immigrants or new (later) Chinese immigrants separately. This paper, in contrast, comparatively investigates these groups utilizing statistics and secondhand source data. This study contends that the mechanisms of institutional exclusion and inclusion in Korean immigration policies, put forward by the policies’ citizenship, legal and economic aspects, produce both new multiculturalism and ethnonationalism. This paper also contends that mechanisms of institutional exclusion and inclusion are a result of the interplay between citizenship and ethnicity.本文對韓國華僑(“舊華僑”)、持中國國籍的中國大陸漢族和朝鮮族(“新華僑”)進行比較。長久以來,在韓國社會裡“單一民族”一直是一個很普遍的傳統現象。但兩波從中國到韓國的華人華僑移民潮卻反駁此現象。早期的移民潮發生在十九世紀末,在此期間移居到韓國的華人一般稱之為韓國華僑(簡稱為“韓華”)。最近這一波新移民潮則是發生在最近30多年,恰好是在發生在中華人民共和國和韓國建交的一九九二年前後。從一九九零年代開始,因中國崛起和亞洲移民的動態變化帶動的中國“新”移民到了韓國,也改變了在韓國社會裡外國剬民的國籍與種族結構。這些來自中國的新移民大部分都是漢族(簡稱為“漢族”),有些則是朝鮮族,這兩個不同的民族都持有中華人民共和國的國籍。已經有許多研究關注移居韓國的華人,但比較不同時代移居至韓國的華人的討論卻非常少見。這個研究便以統計和二手資料為主,特別針對這些在不同時期來到韓國的華人進行比較。本論文分析了在韓國移民政策裡頭制度排斥和包容的機制,筆者分析了這些政策裡的剬民權、法律和經濟等不同層面,發現韓國的一系列移民政策造成了新的多文化主義和民族國家主義。此外,本研究也發現產生制度排斥和包容機制是剬民權和種族性之間的相互作用的結果。 (This article is in English).


1982 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Bowman ◽  
Michael Wallerstein

The 1891 civil war that led to the downfall of President José Manuel Balmaceda is without doubt one of the most visible episodes of Chilean history. Already the subject of a voluminous bibliography by 1894 (Echeverría y Reyes, 1894), the “revolution's” importance to historians of Chile actually increased over time as a new generation of scholars came to view it not merely as a discrete event of limited intrinsic interest but as an important key to understanding Chile's subsequent political and economic development. In retrospect, the conflict came to be seen as a “crucial watershed” in Chilean history (Blakemore, 1974: 243), marking the replacement of a presidential system—1833-1891—notable in nineteenth-century Latin America for political stability, by a parliamentary system—1891-1924—notorious for political and monetary disorder.


Author(s):  
Grażyna STRNAD

This article aims to show the process of formation and operation (functioning) of the changing political system of South Korea. It is undertaken for the analysis of the process of the collapse of the former authoritarian political system and formation of South Korean democracy. Indicated in this article are the roles and participation of political leaders (Chun Doo Hwan, Roh Tae Woo, Kim Young Sam, and Kim Dae Jung) in the process of intense political change that took place in South Korea from the 1980s to the late twentieth century.During the authoritarian regimes of South Korea, the nation recorded spectacular economic development, but without political development. Political leadership in the democratization of the country was still authoritarian. Core values and attitudes of politicians pointed to the presence of the cultural heritage of Confucianism in politics.


Author(s):  
Tommaso Pensabene Lionti

<p>El 4 de diciembre de 2016 los italianos fueron llamados a participar, a través de la votación, en el <em>referéndum</em> concerniente una ley constitucional que (en caso de resultado positivo), habría modificado de manera radical el ordenamiento constitucional italiano. Entre las múltiples modificaciones que la reforma quería introducir, se enfocan lo significativos cambios que la misma habría producido en materia de procedimiento legislativo. En efecto, al final de la reforma, el sistema parlamentario italiano habría cambiado, transitando desde el llamado “bicameralismo paritario” hasta un sistema monocameral “asimétrico o diferenciado”. En consecuencia, habría cambiado el procedimiento legislativo, estructurándose en múltiples procedimientos, o variantes procedimentales, de los cuales se describe la disciplina, haciendo hincapié sobre algunos relevantes aspectos problemáticos. Se subraya, también, que la reforma, a través de la modificación del procedimiento legislativo, junto con la nueva disciplina constitucional de los decretos-leyes y de la nueva repartición de las competencias normativas entre el Estado y las Regiones, habría producido cambios importantes sobre las mismas características de las leyes y de los actos con fuerza de ley. En conclusión, se plantean las posibles razones, políticas y jurídicas, que han llevado al resultado negativo del <em>referendum</em> constitucional.</p><p>On December 4, 2016, Italians were called upon a <em>referendum</em> to approve a constitutional law that would (if successful) radically change the Italian constitutional system. Among the many changes that the reform intended to pursue, we are focusing on the significant changes it would bring in the legislative procedure. As a result of the reform, in fact, the Italian parliamentary system would be changed, passing from "bicameralism equal" to a "asymmetric or differentiated" monocameral system. Consequently, the legislative process would have changed, articulating into multiple procedures or procedural variants, of which the discipline is described, focusing on some relevant problematic profiles. It should also be noted that the reform, with the modification of the legislative procedure, together with the new constitutional discipline of the decree-law and the new division of normative competences between the State and the Regions, would have produced important changes in the features of laws and acts with force of law. Finally, we are questioning about the possible reasons, policies and legal issues, that have led to the negative outcome of the constitutional <em>referendum</em><em>.</em></p>


Author(s):  
Jane Duckett ◽  
Neil Munro

Abstract Context: Over the last two decades a growing body of research has shown authoritarian regimes trying to increase their legitimacy by providing public goods. But there has so far been very little research on whether or not these regimes are successful. Methods: This article analyzes data from a 2012–2013 nationally representative survey in China to examine whether health care provision bolsters the communist regime’s legitimacy. Using multivariate ordinal logistic regression, we test whether having public health insurance and being satisfied with the health care system are associated with separate measures of the People’s Republic of China’s regime legitimacy: support for “our form of government” (which we call “system support”) and political trust. Findings: Having public health insurance is positively associated with trust in the Chinese central government. Health care system satisfaction is positively associated with system support and trust in local government. Conclusions: Health care provision may bolster the legitimacy of authoritarian regimes, with the clearest evidence showing that concrete benefits may translate into trust in the central government. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between trends in provision and legitimacy over time and in other types of authoritarian regime.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hough ◽  
Markus Bell

This article draws on the public testimonies of North Koreans living in South Korea (t’albungmin) and analyzes the role that these narratives play in South Korean society as mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. North and South Korea technically remain at war, with South Korea claiming sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula. While t’albungmin are eligible for South Korean citizenship, they describe feeling excluded from full social membership. Although some t’albungmin seek anonymity, this paper considers those who gain social status by speaking publicly about their lives and denouncing the North Korean regime. In so doing, they distance themselves from North Korea and align themselves with the “good” discourse of human rights. However, their actions reinforce a logic of exclusion, implying that t’albungmin who prefer anonymity are “sympathizers,” and consequently restricting their access to social benefits and resources. This case of conditional inclusion illuminates tensions that arise when a sovereignty claim entails the incorporation of people from an enemy state. It also highlights the carefully delineated boundaries of publicly acceptable behavior within which “suspect” citizens must remain as a condition for positive recognition.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Lankov

This article deals with the problems of North Korean defectors currently living in South Korea. In the past, most such defectors came from privileged groups in the North Korean population, and their adjustment to the new environment did not pose a significant problem. However, from the mid-1990s, defectors began to come from the far less privileged groups. They experience serious problems related to jobs, education, crime, and social adjustment. Recent years have seen a dramatic but not always openly stated change in the official South Korean attitude toward defectors: from a policy explicitly aimed at encouraging defection, Seoul has moved to the policy of quietly discouraging it. There are fears that encouraging defection will undermine the policy of peaceful engagement with the North. There is also the perception that refugees are outsiders, not quite adjustable to the conditions of South Korean society and thus a social and budgetary burden.


Author(s):  
Yoonkyung Lee

Under rising insecurity and precarity in the neoliberal labor market, Korean workers have protested mass job cuts and deteriorating working conditions. Although their grievances originate from the regions and workplaces where they are employed or laid off, the protest sites often move to major political landmarks in Seoul, the nation’s capital, with demands for political redress. These labor protests in the capital demonstrate two distinctive features of Korean labor movements in the 2000s: protests go on for a protracted period of time with few tangible results and take extreme forms of resistance. Approaching Seoul as a site of contentious politics, this study analyses the mutual nexus between labor protests and urban spaces with cases that appropriate various sites, such as Kwanghwamun (Gwanghwamun) Square, the Blue House, and the National Assembly, involving diverse tactics like long-term camp-ins, sambo ilbae (삼보일배) marches, and the occupation of structurally perilous structures. It examines which layers of inequality and injustice in the labor market, or in Korean society at large, are articulated through protest methods that spatially engage with specific urban locations in Seoul. With this investigation, the paper argues that the labor movement practices novel repertoires of resistance to neoliberal precarity by choosing the urban sites with metaphoric significance and by publicly displaying bodily torment. These new forms of contention, in turn, redefine the sense and political implication of the protest site and make the space part of the new protest repertoire.


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