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Volume 6 No. 1
Making the World Safe for Democracy: Promoting Freedom
<Abstract>
Democratic governments do not wage war on one another, thus we need to
produce more democratic dyads. However, while some practitioners feel it
best to confront authoritarianism and even to impose democratic
transition, others feel that economic development leads to political
liberalization, and that this may be encouraged through the promotion of
free trade. This paper addresses the risks associated with both
approaches and concludes that there is no inevitable without active
management and education not just of the masses, but also of cabinets
and foreign offices that their own national interest is best served
through peace and spread of commerce.
Economic Adjustment and Political Changes in Mexico: Centering on the Process of TELMEX Privatization
<Abstract>
Paying attention to a historical coincidence of economic liberalization
and democratization in contemporary Mexico, this paper purposes to
scrutinize the political implications of the economic adjustment for
state-society relations, especially focusing on the changes in the
state-labor alliance manifested during the process of TELMEX
privatization. In pursuing this purpose, this paper develops its
arguments based on the following two assumptions. The first is that the
unevenness of the current economic restructuring especially in Latin
American countries can be ascribed to the apparent discrepancy between
domestic and international political economy. The second assumptions is
that the economic reform policy largely as an incarnation of the state's
strategic reaction to the external pressures may result in changes of
the relationship between the state and society. Although the basic ideas
of a radical neoliberal strategy aim at reduction of the state's role
in economy and revival of 'pure' market mechanism, this paper argues
that the realities so far have not shown an absolute retrenchment of the
state's role; rather the imposition of neoliberal economic reform seems
to be dependent on the state's power over the society at least during
the transition period. At least so far, the tenacious tension between
international pressures and domestic demands in Mexico have generated a
hybrid form of political economy structure, that is, 'free market with
traditional social values, 'which has been dubbed by the Mexican regime
as 'social liberalism.
Reflections on the Populist Politics in Contemporary Korea : A Reading of its Discursive logic and Cultural Frame
<Abstract>
This paper deals with the politics of populist discourses and its
cultural frame in contemporary Korea. It is divided into two parts. In
the first part, I articulate a reading of the current Korean president
Roh Moo Hyun's discourses focusing on the populist dimensions of his
rhetoric. In the second part, I explore the conditions of emergence of
populist discourses by taking into account the socio-historical context
of Korean populism. I try to situate recent "outbreak" of populism
within the long history of Korean populist politics and to confirm "
manic dualism" as a cultural frame of Korean populism in relation to the
crucial cleavage between the conservatives and the progressives that
have seemed to dominate contemporary Korean political culture. And
coming to a conclusion, I discussed the connection between Korean
populism and democracy as a clinical diagnosis of polulist politics in
Korea. Traditional approaches to populism have highlighted the linkage
with modernization, the enfranchisement of the underdogs and the role
played by charismatic leaders, not interrelating with societal
democratization. But my work takes on the relationship by thinking
populism as an internal periphery of democracy so as to shed light on a
possible iterating interiority of the populism, that is, a symptom of
democratic politics by looking at the tensions that push populism to the
edges of democracy.
Political Changes and the Ethnic Koreans in Central Asia : A Kantian Liberal Perspective
<Abstract>
The countries of the Central Asian region have been experiencing rapid
political changes in recent times. In this context, the issue of
ethnocentralism has emerged as a critical problem in this region. As
many ethnic Koreans are living in this region, they are not free from
the conflicts stemming from ethnocentralism. From this general
understanding, this paper looks at recent political changes and the
ensuing inter-ethnic conflicts in the Central Asian countries having the
ethnic Koreans in mind. A Kantian liberal perspective has been
introduced to analyze political changes and the dynamics of inter-ethnic
conflicts. From the Kantian liberal perspective, this paper attempts to
locate the underlying causes for the contemporary conflicts among
different national groups in the region in the discriminative and
despotic treatment of other ethnic national groups under imperial Russia
and the former Soviet Union. Ironically enough, however, the newly
independent Central Asian countries also show a new exclusive
ethnocentralism. In this context, Russians and other ethnic national
groups are facing tremendous challenges. This paper points out that his
policy is not desirable because it might cause the outflow of brains
from these countries and dispel the potential foreign investors which
are urgently needed for state-building. Therefore, drawing on the
Kantian concepts of hospitality and cosmopolitan right, this paper
suggests that the leadership in the Central Asian countries treat the
ethnically different nationals with hospitality and fairness. As
conclusion, the ethnic Koreans in this region are advised to adjust
themselves to indigenous cultures of the host countries, while they try
to preserve their own traditional culture.
The Arms Control End Game on the Korean Peninsula
<Abstract> Since
the late 1970s and early 1980s, North Korea has enhanced its national
nuclear infrastructure. However, by the late 1980s, it was clear that
Phyongyang intended to divert its nuclear program to military-related
projects. It was during this time that North Korea began a nuclear game
in which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea a nuclear activity in
return for concessions from the west. Three U.S. administrations--two
Republican and one Democratic --have attempted to reach a deal with this
isolated communist country using a series of failed bilateral
negotiations. Only recently has the Bush Administration stressed the
importance of a multilateral solution to the crisis. The current nuclear
crisis can only be solved when other regional states, acting in
conjunction with the United States, demonstrates collective resolve and
negotiates from a position of strength rather than weakness.
Volume 6 No. 2
Privatization and Corporate Governance in Russia: What Direction Is Being Taken for Improvement?
(Youngjin Kim )
<Abstract> This
paper considers Russian corporate governance in accordance with the
effectuation of privation policy and the change of ownership structure.
Enterprise restructuring and reforms have followed the radical process
of transition, especially privatization policy, and it resulted in the
situation requiring the improvement of corporate governance in Russia.
Privatization, in itself, is insufficient to effect a successful
establishment of corporate governance, as well as transition to a market
economy. This paper looks at the characteristics and remaining problems
of Russian privatization and its impact on corporate governance.
Russia
still remains to be in its infant stage in terms of corporate
governance. It might be too soon to tell which governance model can be
presumed that the Russian governance system will evolve toward the
Anglo-American model in the neat term and end up with a unique Russian
model in the long term due to Russia's unique culture and history.
The Iraq War and the Korean Peninsula
(Brendan Howe )
<Abstract> Because
the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, North
Korea is still technically at war with the United States. Now, both
sides appear to be preparing themselves for another full-scale hot war
in the event that they fail to forge a diplomatic solution to the
current nuclear proliferation standoff. Many commentators fell that the
situation has been rendered more volatile by recent events. The war
waged by the US against Iraq, another member of what President Georage
W.bush termed the 'Axis of Evil', Bush's recent re-election, and
aggressive posturing between Washinton and Pyongyang such as the North
Korea Human Rights Act, have raised the question of whether North Korea
might be next. However, this article contends that although an
ever-present contingent danger, a second Korean War remains unlikely.
Analysing India's Nuclear Doctrine: Is It a Paradigm Shift?
(Mohammed Badrul Alam)
<Abstract> India's
response th global nuclear non-proliferation measures has been a
dominant theme in the country's overall evolution of nuclear colonial
rule in 1947. In 1947, India conducted a nuclear test that it termed a
'peaceful nuclear exposition' and in 1998, India conducted a full scale
nuclear test and subsequently claimed to attain nuclear weapon
capability which was followed soon after by its neighbor, Pakistan, also
opting for the same nuclear route.
The
purpose of this article is to analyze, scrutinize and critically
evaluate certain key elements of India's draft nuclear doctrine
including the changes and transformations has taken place since 1998.
The paper also looks at and examines some workable and plausible
confidence-building measures that could be experimented in the context
of India-Pakistan relations.
A Confucian Vision of Human Rights
(Kurtis Hagen )
<Abstract> After
much political arm-twisting, many reluctant East Asian leaders have now
accepted, at least in word, the proposition that human rights can be
regarded as "universal". Far from being an admission of philosophical
defeat, I argue that it is a move that has enabled East Asians to adopt
the more nuanced position. Further, by reinterpreting "universalism",
East Asian leaders have been largely successful undermining both the
moral realist perspective that is often assumed in human rights claims,
as well as the supposition that civil rights and "negative rights"(or
freedom) can be used to trump "mere aspiration" such as economic
development and welfare.
Adopting
this new understanding, this "tempered universalism," has involved
substantial concessions from the West, both in terms of philosophical
worldview, and in terms of actual policy implications.
A Nation Redefined: Post-1997 South Korea
(Jasper S. Kim)
<Abstract> This
article argues that post-1997 South Korea is undergoing a unique period
of fundamental and broad changes across the nation's main critical
sectors of economic policy, political ideology, foreign policy, social
perspective, infrastructure, and educational structure, as a result of
the 1997 korean financial crisis. The author provides a broad overview
of the notable shifts occurring across such sectors, noting that
technology was a critical tool used to effectively implement such
changes. Further, it is argued that such rapid and sweeping changes
across such critical sectors as a result of the 1997 korean financial
crisis were distinguishable from the pre-1997 period to significantly
strengthen the nation for the new millennium to create a defining "new
era" for the Korean republic.
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