Cho-ChenRegression of Distributional Politics in Democratization: A Comparative Study on Civil Society, Social Movements, and Institutional Politics in South Korea and Taiwan

7/31/2019 Cho-ChenRegression of Distributional Politics in Democratization: A Comparative Study on Civil Society, Social Movements, and Institutional Politics in South Korea and Taiwan

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Regression of DistributionalPolitics in Democratization:A Comparative Study on Civil Society, Social Movements, and Institutional

Politicsin South Korea and Taiwan

CHO Hee-Yeon, Sungkonghoe Univ. S.Korea

CHEN Hsin-Hsing. Shi-Hsin Univ. Taiwan


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1. Consolidated Democracies with Increasing

Inequality

2. Theoretical and conceptual frameworks

3. Institutional politics under change

4. Social movements and distributionalpolitics

5. Changes in the civil society


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Consolidated Democracieswith Increasing Inequality

Reforms in immediate aftermath of the fall ofdictatorship under post-authoritarianadministrations

Failed expectation of progressive

distributional politics under the Liberaladministrations and popular discontent

Resurgence of conservatism


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Fig. 1: Indices of Income Inequalit

0.2

0.22

0.24

0.26

0.28

0.3

0.32

0.34

0.36

1964

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

G ini's conc entration c oeffic ientR atio of inco me s hare of highes t 20% to that

Record Low:1980

Record High :2001


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Declining until 1997Crisis


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Democratic reform and distributionalpolitics

Two components of the anti-dictatorshipdemocratic movement

Democratic reform politics overcoming the dictatorial legacies;

enhancing transparency, vertical and horizontalaccountability

Distributional politics enhancing economic equalities

mitigating various social discriminations and inequalities


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Main argument

While democratic reform politics is largelysuccessful in S. Korea and Taiwan, there is aregression in distributional politics in bothcountries.

Political-sociological analysis of this requiresexamination of interrelated developments in: Institutional politics

Social movements

Civil Society


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Theoretical and conceptualframeworks

Democratization as a multi-layered de-monopolization

Two contradictory liberalizations Freedom for the peoplepolitical liberalization

Freedom for the capitaleconomic liberalization Democratization as contestation process

between two "liberated" forces

Contestation over socio-economic inequality

depends on: Configuration of institutional politics

Configuration of social movements

Hegemony within the civil society


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Regime ofdevelopmen

t anddictatorship

Liberation from repression andexpansion of autonomy

Empowerment of people andCS(fortune of political liberalization)

Expansion of the market autonomy andeconomic opening and liberalization

Empowerment of capital andmarket(disaster of economicliberalization

Economicliberalization

Political

liberalization

Dual process of democratization

Institutional politicsIn the new democracy

Social movementsHegemony

in thecivil society


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Contesting Forces in DistributionalPolitics


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Maximalist vs. minimalist visions ofdemocracy

Maximalist Democracy as merely institutional arrangements, or Hollow out of democracy

Favored by establishment

Minimalist Democratization in all social domains

socialization of democracy

Favored by the formerly suppressed people

Intrinsic in the idealistic character of democracy


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Institutional Politics under Change

Commonalities between South Korea andTaiwan Democratic Reform in Hegemonic

Position

Political lag and pressure for democraticreform in post-authoritarian period

Neoliberalization of political liberals

The Third-Wave and Neoliberaldevelopmentalism second wavenational liberation,

decolonization

third wave globalization, neoliberalism


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Institutional politics in S. Korea

Reforms initiated under post-authoritariangovernments

IMF directives implemented by the KimDae-jung government

Strong constraints from capital and marketforces

Positive achievemenst under the Kim Dae-

jung government Corruption scandals


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Institutional Politics in Taiwan

Centrality of electoral politics Reforms initiated under the post-authoritarian

government

Reversal of the State-Business Hierarchy

Ethnicity, Taiwan-China relations, and the DPPadministration Changes in the ethnicity issue

Corruption scandals


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Revenues of Top 100 Taiwanese BusinessGroups


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Social movements in South Korea

Peoples Movement viz. Civic movementsStrength of the Trade-Union Movement

Table 1: Growth Rates of Labor Productivity and Real Wage in SouthKorea

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Labor Productivity (%) 6.5 1.6 6.0 3.2 3.0 5.2 4.9 6.1 4.2

Real Wage (%) 7.8 14.6 9.4 7.5 8.4 7.0 6.1 6.4 6.6


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Social movements in S. Korea

Social movements under the democraticadministration Radical party and pressure on the liberal parties

Compromise in 1998 revision of the labor law

Casualization of work Limitations of the Civic Movements

Crisis of the Labor movement Fragmented labor market


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Social Movements in Taiwan

Distinctive characters: Lack of distinction between old and new social

movements

Long-lasting movements limited to several sectors

Schisms inside the movement often reflect partisan

electoral politics Coalition building and structurelessness of organizations

Transcending partisan politics

State-Social Movement Interactions

Administrative Reforms and the committee politics Legislative reforms

Weaker and slower judicial reforms


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Changes in the civil society in South Korea

Hegemony of democratic reform under post-authoritarian administrations

Resurgence of conservative tendencies Backlash toward redressing past injustices

Entanglement of the liberals with corruption Neoliberal policies harm common people

Failure of the reform to change the deep-rootedconservative consciousness


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Changes in civil society in Taiwan

Democratic values as politically correct 2010 Foxconn controversy

Three strands of conservatism Pro-unification

Pro-Independence politically neutral social conservatives

Emergence of civic organizations under post-authoritarian governments

Versatile characters of the civic organizations Wildlife conservationists in the petrochemical

controversy


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Conclusions

Hegemony of democratic reforms underminedduring the liberal administrations

Histtory-rooted anti-bureaucratic sentimentsand the neoliberalization of liberals

Capacity of the social movements still existdespite conservative backlash

Documents

Cho-ChenRegression of Distributional Politics in Democratization: A Comparative Study on Civil Society, Social Movements, and Institutional Politics in South Korea and Taiwan