Suchergebnisse

This controversial new study, breaks with the tradition of basing political studies on analyses of institutions and political personalities, by likening the Republic of Korea to a laboratory for the clash of political cultures. In the late 1940s, the Americans embarked upon a democratization programme designed to create a Western bulwark against the spread of communism in East Asia. The intervening years have seen the advent and demise of military rule, with South Korea now having a democratically-elected government. Although the US strategy thus seems successful, the political crises of 1995

Helgesen reviews Divided Korea: Toward a Culture of Reconciliation by Roland Bleiker.

The author discusses the alleged socialist ideology, called Juche, developed in North Korea. He claims it futile to apply models based on experience in Western societies to the study of this ideology. By pointing at some similarities between Juche and traditional Korean political ideology, a way to a more realistic approach is suggested. (DÜI-Sen)

"There is hardly another country as isolated and with such a bleak image as North Korea. It is portrayed in the Western media as a Hermit Kingdom ruled by an outdated, communist dictatorship whose clandestine nuclear programmes alarm its neighbours and which uses dreadful labour camps to control a population wracked by famine. The regime's poor track record on human rights is stressed time and again by both Western governments and international organizations. Prospects look bleak for any improvement in relations let alone the start of a dialogue on human rights. Offering a rare, nuanced analysis of the North Korean situation, this short study argues that not only is a constructive and fruitful dialogue on human rights possible but also it is desirable for both parties."--Page 4 of cover

There is hardly another country as isolated and with such a bleak image as North Korea. It is portrayed in the Western media as a Hermit Kingdom ruled by an outdated, communist dictatorship whose clandestine nuclear programmes alarm its neighbours and which uses dreadful labour camps to control a population wracked by famine. The regime's poor track record on human rights is stressed time and again by both Western governments and international organizations. Prospects look bleak for any improvement in relations let alone the start of a dialogue on human rights. Offering a rare, nuanced analysis of the North Korean situation, this short study argues that not only is a constructive and fruitful dialogue on human rights possible but also it is desirable for both parties.

What is 'good government'? Is it transparent, responsive, small and unobtrusive, or on the contrary, big and active? And is 'good government' the same everywhere, or do regional differences of opinion have to be acknowledged? This short study aims to answer some of these questions by presenting the opinions of 7,127 respondents from China, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Korea and Sweden. Surprising results were revealed: within the global political context, the political cultures of East Asia and the Nordic countries have common traits regarding people's expectations of their governments. Unexpectedly, popular control of government is not alien to East Asian political opinion; even more surprisingly is, however, the fact that the moral, paternalistic leadership style so widely accepted in East Asia attracts a positive response in the Nordic countries as well. This volume offers a first glimpse of a comprehensive comparative study conducted by the Eurasia Political Culture Research Network (EPCReN) in 1999-2000. This is a pioneer study that aims to spear-head comparative social science research springing from the growing mutual interest between Asia and Europe.