During the early years of South Korea’s transition to democracy, expanding popular rule and deepening individual rights went hand-in-hand. But Roh Moo Hyun’s presidency has exposed rifts between majority rule and constitutionalism that the country’s judiciary is struggling to bridge.
About the Authors
Hahm Chaihark
Hahm Chaihark is assistant professor in the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University, where he also chairs the Korean Studies Program. He is coeditor (with Daniel A. Bell) of The Politics of Affective Relations: East Asia and Beyond (2004).
The “democratic deconsolidation” thesis is overblown. Emancipative values continue to spread worldwide, and clearly point to brighter democratic days ahead.
The election cycle concluding in the spring of 2003 was a guarded success. High hurdles to better governance and democratic consolidation remain, but Nigerians can now face them with greater…
