Political systems of East Asia: China Korea and Japan [ENGLISH], Schemi e mappe concettuali di Relazioni Internazionali

Scarica Political systems of East Asia: China Korea and Japan [ENGLISH] e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Relazioni Internazionali solo su Docsity! Political Systems of East Asia: China Korea and Japan Hayes China 1. THE CONFUCIAN TRADITION China was untouched by neighboring cultures because its physical isolation. Traditional China in its last century become intellectually and institutionally petrified. Confucius and the Chinese way. Ideology of traditional China as Confucianism Confucius: supposedly lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E. The Confucian school of philosophy laid the intellectual foundations that would serve China for millennia. It was made the official ideology of the country during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.). Confucius philosophy: Normal living is to cooperate, to promote common welfare. The ruler’s success should be measured by his ability to bring welfare and happiness to all people. (government in the hands of the virtuous and trained Ministers). The organization of society was a hierarchy of superior-inferior relationships. Each person had a role to perform establishing a fixed set of social expectations (defined by authority). In contrast to the Western notion of corruptibility, Confucius held the principle of a man perfectible. Example in the warring states period (421-279 B.C.E.). In other important idea was the proper conduct according to social status (li). The li where the written in ancient records that became the classics (idea of virtue -> right conduct). Western observers (against a vengeful God or Hobbesian idea) where impressed by confucian classics. Confucianism has been the most successful system of conservatism. The military did not by high rank in social and political terms (vs Western-style imperialism). Four groupson the standard Confucian list: scholar, farmer, artisan and merchant. Other school of thought: Taoism: concerned with the individual and the universe. nonparticipation in social affairs. Maoist: embracing universal love. Legalism: during the Qin dynasty. Importance of authoritarian rules. Science and technology disconnect between scientific learning and achievement and the application of those achievements in practical ways. Example: gunpowder, horse, stirrup. The fusion of science and technology with commerce was not made. science was not a matter of private investigation but a state responsibility and monopoly. The Imperial Chinese State Central to the traditional Chinese system was the institution of the Emperor. Central to this process was the Emperor’s ability to develop a loyal political and economic elite. The Chinese Emperor’s mandate was a universal principle. The government was a three-faced pyramid: the civil administration, the military, and a censorial system. Example: the notion of rights as it came to be developed in the West did not exist. The administrator were recruited by a rigorous exam stressing the Confucian classics and their principles (merit-based civil service system). China was defined by the extent of Chinese civilization. Political History China’s social and political institutions had their origins in the second millennium BCE. The first stage was the Shang period (1900-1700 BCE): inscriptions discovered on the oracle bones. Shang (1500-1300 BCE): further urbanization and development of social organizations. Shang (1330-1135 BCE): social stratification. Shang (1135-1028 BCE): concept of China. Relations between the Chinese and peoples on the frontier were hostile. The Great Wall was built during the Qin. China was in a position to extend its influence but for ideology, the opportunity for conquest was never seriously exercised. The great Chinese voyages had been stopped by Confucian-trained scholar-officials. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) the imperial system became plagued by corruption (power of eunuchs). Internal rebellions China allowed the Manchus to expan their influence. 2. CHINA AND THE WEST Contacts between the West and China were limited by geography and logistics (obstacles for commerce). China had little interest in the world outside East Asia and no imperial ambitions . Western nations began exploiting China with the Ming. No direct contact was permitted between foreign traders and the Chinese government. Opium was grown in India for export China and the problem was not a moral or public health issue but it was a drain on the economy. -> Opium War ->Treaty of Nanking->Hong Kong to British empire. The business of Western imperialism was competitive. The Taiping Rebellion and other Uprisings the government was largely ineffective, corruption was widespread and foreigners where imposing their will on China (British practice of selling opium, the Arrow incident..). The Taiping rebellion was a result of the introduction of Christianity in China. Hong Xiuquan was a Chinese convert to Christianity and tought be the younger brother of Jesus. Europeans were not in favor to the idea of Hong. The Taiping rebellion lasted from 1852 to 1864. It was a massive rebellion or civil war in China that lasted from 1850 to 1864, which was fought between the established Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Christian millenarian movement of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace. The Taiping Rebellion began in the southwestern province of Guangxi when local officials launched a campaign of persecution against a Christian sect known as the God Worshipping Society led by Hong Xiuquan, who believed himself to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ. The war was mostly fought in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hubei, but over 14 years of war, the Taiping Army had marched through every regularized province of China proper except Gansu. The war was the largest in China since the Qing conquest in 1644, and ranks as one of the bloodiest wars in human history, the bloodiest civil war, and the largest conflict of the nineteenth century with estimates of war dead ranging from 20 to 70 million dead, as well as millions more displaced. Modernization and reform. Reforms were attempted in 1898 (hundred days reform) changing the civil service examination system, improve the general level of education, modernize the military and develop science -> Threatened the status of the elite. In the end the Qing failed to deal with the challenges posed by the West. The First Sino-Japanese War system of government. This because political systems have a natural tendency to remain conservative -> the Chinese revolution ended in the tyranny of Maoism. The KMT went to Taiwan-> disaster, Taiwanese treated as enemy. 4.MAOISM Socialist revolutionary theory (marx-engels)-> the revolution is the result of an economic process-> historical determinism->Marx had in mind the Western Europe where capitalism was advanced. That Russian approach to revolution and political action was served as model for other revolutionaries->Comintern->Russian lead others. Lenin->Trotsky->Stalin: Socialism in one country, capitalist encirclement. China took an independent ideology course from Russian’s-> China was an agrarian society the major components of Maoist revolutionary philosophy can be divided into five parts. Class struggle, the role of force, the nature of revolution, the role of the party, international relations. Class struggle in Marx original formulation the class struggle was between the capitalists and the proletariat. For Mao the peasantry was central (in Russia it could be ignored). The modifications made by Mao to Marxist-leninist revolutionary doctrine enabled China to emerge from the chaos of the Imperial system. He focus on rural peasantry instead of industrial proletariat. The role of force the revolution must be violent. The bourgeoisies do not give up without a fight. The central role of violence is expressed in Mao’s famous statement “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, the party controls the gun ; the gun must never be allowed to control the party”. Importance of the Army -> Departure from Confucian tradition. Mao’s idea of “people’s war”-> elimination of military rank and distinction development of the revolutionary technique-> the guerrilla warfare approach with which the Chinese Communist won the war against Japan (abroad effective on in cuba and Vietnam) The nature of revolution Mao showed little hesitation in exploiting China’s large population for political purposes (in Marxism-Leninism seizure of power by the proletariat or the party). Mao wanted to create the society of perfect equality “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” (MARX). But Mao’s idea of revolution is more ideological then institutional. higher plan of revolutionary enlightenment-> mass line approach in the form of collective organization and behavior. Economic progress achieved by the great leap forward (1958)-> failure-> Mao thought that the people were not ready to advance. The great proletarian cultural revolution (1966-1976) the cultural Revolution costed human lives. The 1977 trial of the gang of four: was a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang's leading figure was Mao Zedong's last wife Jiang Qing. The other members were Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen.The Gang of Four controlled the power organs of the Communist Party of China through the later stages of the Cultural Revolution, although it remains unclear which major decisions were made by Mao Zedong and carried out by the Gang, and which were the result of the Gang of Four's own planning. The Gang of Four, together with disgraced general Lin Biao, were labeled the two major "counter-revolutionary forces" of the Cultural Revolution and officially blamed by the Chinese government for the worst excesses of the societal chaos that ensued during the ten years of turmoil. Their downfall on October 6, 1976, a mere month after Mao's death, brought about major celebrations on the streets of Beijing and marked the end of a turbulent political era in China. During the cultural Revolution there was a campaign against learning, skills, practical ambition, professionalism and anything not having to do with politics. In 1976 Mao proposed the four modernizations implemented by Deng Xiaoping-> empathize production and technology and place ideology in the background. The principal engine and violent of the cultural Revolution was the red guard, a group of students who criticize the University administrator’s policies. These groups attracted the attention of Mao who saw them as a vehicle for imparting revolutionary vigor to youth. Mao called the red guards to combat the “four olds”: ideas, customs, habits and culture-> purge. But the movement was getting out of control (1968)-> military to restore order. The role of the party in the Leninist formulation, the party is the central element in the revolutionary process. Two functions: It provides the organization and leadership for the proletariat, it is the infallible interpreter of doctrine. But one of the Mao’s major contributions is a major reconfiguration of the Leninist model known as the doctrine of the mass line (according to the little red book): correct thought and action are buried in the masses that are not consciously aware of it. These have to be extracted by the party: Mao’s aphorism “from the masses, to the masses”. Back the party is fallible and can make mistakes and only Mao was unaffected by this tendency. Isolationism Mao effectively precluded foreign involvement and interference in China’s affairs bringing to an end the exploitation of European imperialism. However you during the cultural Revolution anti-intellectualism was accompanied by xenophobia. In 1962 relations with the Soviet union declined because of the sino-indian border war: the soviet came to the aid of India and China sacrificed the friendship of India. Mao and Confucianism in Confucianism emphasis is placed on ritual to give expression to proper roles and social behavior as in Maoism. In Confucianism, hostility is to be internalized and Mao sought to liberate this hostility and direct it toward public issues. Mao departed from the Confucian model of harmony by emphasizing struggle. Authority in Confucianism exists to maintain the order of things and for Mao it does not exist apart from ideology. 5.CHINA AFTER MAO Mao efforts to realize the system ended in failure. Important deviations from the Maoist model and previously been put forth in Zhou Enlai’s four modernizations. (Zhou’s protégé was Deng Xiaoping) Deng assumed the control of China’s destiny and his policies included economic development has determined by empirical results. One of the most important actions taken in the post-Mao era was the opening of China not only to the word economy but to foreign ideas. Initially it was hope that foreign science and technology would be imported and converted into economic progress while foreign culture, values, and political ideas could be kept out. In particular Internet made intellectual isolation impossible. The infection of foreign ideas culminated in the Tiananmen incident in 1989 when youthful protesters demanded democratic political reform and an end to corruption. China’s leaders where faced with the need to rationalize the new social, economic, and political realities. -> Rearranging of ideological priorities: classical Marxism was obsolete. There was a neo-Confucian revival in the post-Deng period. The military the Communists view the military as an extension of the people and not as separate institutional entity (in the onfuciansystem the status of the military was low). The CCP experience in gaining power involved the guerrilla warfare tactics which require a close relationship between the military and the people as expressed in Mao’s famous three rules of discipline and eight points for attention: The three rules enjoined prompt obedience to orders, no confiscation of peasant property, and prompt delivery directly to authorities of all items confiscated from landlords. The eight points were: Be polite when speaking Be honest when buying and selling Return all borrowed articles Pay compensation for everything damaged Do not hit or swear at others Do not damage crops Do not harass females Do not mistreat prisoners The Chinese red Army was founded in 1927 and became the tool of the community quest for power. But the Korean war showed that China’s military doctrine and its armaments where inadequate to meet the needs of the state in the mid-20th century. Moreover China began working on the acquisition of nuclear technology in the mid-1950s-> the Soviet union joined the United States to prevent China from bringing about a nuclear. The party during the Mao political ideology, “politics in command” was the slogan and those suggesting emphasis on administrative mechanisms were chastised for careerism, Bureaucratim or capitalist-roadism. Zhou Enlai “four Modernization”-> Deng Xiaoping-> modern and democratic political system. China inherited certain practical and theoretical approaches from the Soviet union: the priority assigned to doctrine which the basic problem is interpreting its meaning. But with the disintegration of the Soviet union the status of communism and the role of the Chinese communist party became ambiguous. The party took two actions: a commitment to never voluntarily abdicate its monopoly of power as the Soviets had done, economic development and improvement in the quality of life. The legislative branch Korea, like China, has been host to human habitation for millennia. By the fourth century BCE, friction had developed between Korea and China. China’s continuing dominance Once Han China gained control over Korea important political changes were set. The Chinese allowed considerable local autonomy, but the influence of Chinese culture was substantial. The rise of the confederated kingdoms (Koguryo, Silla, Paekche) in Korea posed a potential threat to Chinese supremacy. The pervasive influence of Confucianism in 1392 a new Korean dynasty (Yi dynasty 1392-1910) was established in Seoul and the influence of Confucianism on Korea’s traditional culture was both profound and pervasive. But in Korea, Confucian values and failed to adapt to the requirements of time. Isolation and domination People’s beyond the China’s periphery were regarded as barbarians (China as the MIDDLE KINGDOM). Those having a tributary status included Korea, Japan, Tibet, Vietnam and Nepal. The acceptance of the tribute missions formed a kind of legitimization of the rule of foreign Kings and raised their prestige. However China was unable to defend itself from, much less it’s tributary states. For Korea isolationism would prove to be almost as big as a disaster as it was for China while Japan abandoned isolationism in favor of westernization. The Korean government did not pursue a modernization agenda. 8. KOREA AND IMPERIALISM Outside forces have dominated Korea. For centuries, Korea maintained a tributary status toward China. Korea’s vulnerable geographic position The first significant foreign influence was the 12th century by Mongolian invaders (Yuan dynasty). The next foreign power to set its sights on Korea was Japan. In 1592 the Japanese challenged China’s dominant position on the peninsula but the results were a devasted Korea, a weakened Ming China and a Japanese left with the bitter taste of failure. The United Sates was the first to sing a formal treaty with Korea-> following the American Civil war, American interests in Asia expanded. Korea attracted little interest among Western European imperialists because it offered limited commercial opportunities. Japan’s annexation of Korea Japan ended China’s nominal influence over Korea with the first Sino-Japanese war of 1894 1895 and the formal annexation in 1910-> exploiting the resources and oppressing people. The Japanese were different from Europeans-> Koreans were less able than some other colonial peoples to grant the legitimacy colonial rule. Korea under Japanese role Colonial regimes never integrate with the subject society and there is always a gap between the rulers and ruled. The Japanese sought to strengthen central bureaucratic power in Korea as a means of shifting the balance of forces and providing the mobilization and extract the resources. The institutional changes introduced by the Japanese was a legal code identical to that practiced in Japan. The Japanese used conquered territory to provide a destination for Japanese immigrants, mainly poor farmers. But the Japanese immigrants lost their privileged status when Japan lost World war second-> Areas liberated by the Soviet red Army-> thousands transferred to the Soviet union as slave labor. When the war ended with Japan’s defeat, Korea was liberated but it also faced economic calamity because the economy was essentially run by and for the Japanese. -> Political partition of the peninsula by the US and the Soviet Union. Japanese rule didnot change the social system based on the landed aristocracy. 9. PARTITION AND WAR Japan and Korea share a common cultural tradition-> Confucian heritage Today’s problems began over a century ago, when Japan embarked on its imperialistic conquests. In 1905 Japan invaded and occupied the Korean Peninsula in the context of its war with Russia. The responsibility for creating the Korean war lies with the Japanese. The second Sino-Japanese war (1937 1945) marked the beginning of WWII in Asia. Japan made a serious strategic mistake such has the pearl Harbor in Hawaii-> the Japanese produced the opposite effect and the United States was galvanized into action(they had been resisting entering the wars). Great power diplomacy With the defeat of Japan, Korea was liberated from colonial rule but the allies in made the preparations for dealing with postwar Asia. In 1945 an allied conference was held at Yalta in the Soviet Crimea at which the status of Korea was addressed-> Korea would be administrated by an interim government under international jurisdiction. But the postwar behavior of the Soviet union was not in keeping with the spirit of cooperation and the US government reacted-> the Soviet union decided to expand communism into satellite territories. Korea was partitioned at the 38th parallel in 1945 and the Korean War in 1915 procured because of the failure of Japan to develop Korea politically. In 1942 Pres. Roosevelt created an international trusteeship for Korea with Britain, China and soviet union-> Roosevelt’s death ended any expectation of friendly US-Soviet relations. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union entered in the Pacific war and the red Army moved into the Northern portion of Korea-> Truman proposed the temporary division of the peninsula along the 38th parallel. South Korean political leaders where opposed to socialism, communism, and the idea of a trusteeship arrangement that included the Soviets. The United Nations temporary commission on Korea (UNTCOK) was created to monitor elections and promote self-determination on the peninsula-> elections in the southern part of the peninsula only. With occupation forces on either side of the parallel, both Stalin and Truman were concerned about the possibility of military actions, and both wanted to their another war. Struggle between the communism and capitalism-> the rhetorical war that was emerging between the two ideologies soon eliminated any possibility of achieving Korean unification in any form. Military occupation A US-educated nationalist leader named Syngam Rhee, recommended by Chang Kai-shek, was flown Korea. The Soviets, meanwhile, installed Kim Il Sung. The United States took the matter of Korea to the United Nations but the south Korea leaders were opposed the to the two governments idea and continuing to seek a north-south conference. Russian-Korean relations generally seemed cordial whereas Korean villagers were “gooks” (muso giallo) to the Americans. According to Robert Oliver Americans failed the government in Korea: the Americans were not prepared for it; American troops were combat veterans still stationed in Okinawa; the alliance with the Soviet union during the war left the United States psychologically unprepared to deal with postwar communist aggressiveness; Koreans and Americans do not understand each other; Koreans has always been suspicion of foreigners (35 years’ experience as a colony of Japan); communist activities in Korea where widespread, creating the political instability. The Korean war For the United States, the Korean war has been something of an embarrassment. The war itself ended in a stalemate and could only in a technical sense be declared a victory-> the Communists still controlled the North and China’s international statue enhanced by its involvement in driving the UN forces out of North Korea. The Korean War was the product of Cold War ideology; it was an obvious manifestation of Soviet expansionist ambitions. When Truman had withdrawn American troops(1949) from Korea Stalin saw an opportunity to enhance the Soviet geopolitical interests-> gaining the Korean Peninsula would extend the Soviet security perimeter outward; Japan would become isolated; American resolve to support it would be tested; China would be pushed further into the Soviet orbit; potential opportunities for Soviet action in Europe since the American military resources sent to Asia. The war was a grinding affair: the North Koreans enjoyed initial success and pushed US and South Korean forces off the peninsula but by the end of August 1950, the North Koreans were outmanned and outgunned. Armistice In June 1951 the Communists called for armistice talks. Major offensive operations were stopped but the Chinese took advantage of the opportunity to inflict casualties, especially on US forces. The Communists reached the end of their physical abilities and an armistice was achieved in 1953. But technically the war is still on because there has been no peace treaty. Americans consider the Korean War to be proof of the Communists intention to take over the world. North Koreans consider the United States participation in the war and the continuing American military presence in the South as the continuation of the western imperialist intervention in Asia. The war put an indefinite end to any possibility of Korean reunification. Occasionally, such as during the 1990s sunshine period Of South Korean Pres. Kim Dae Jung, relations softened only for hostility to resurface. 10. KOREA AND THE COLD WAR Korea became a pivot point at the very beginning of the Cold War as the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other at the 38th parallel-> Korea was the first arena where the United States pursued the containment doctrine. Syngman Rhee, 1875-1965 Was a Korean political leader, the first president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and the first president of the Republic of Korea (commonly referred to as South Korea). His three-term presidency of South Korea (August 1948 to April 1960) was strongly affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Rhee was regarded as an anti-Communist and a strongman, and he led South Korea through the Korean War. His presidency ended in resignation following popular protests against a disputed North Korea’s development prospects contemporary North Korea is a wild mélange of an authoritarian Confucian dynasty, a Stalinist state, and areligious cult, complete with its own ideology, juche (the core doctrine of Kim Il Sung’s ideology, values of the national independence, self-reliance and self-sufficiency). North Korea’s economic collapse in the 1990s was the inevitable result of Pyonyang’s massive expenditures on military preparedness and the demise of Soviet aid and trade-> emphasis on expanding military capability China, after the collapse of the Soviet union, has maintained closer relations with North Korea and then as any other country. The regional picture is complicated fact that there has been a significant movement of people around the area-> immigration-> Authoritarian regimes restrict public access to information and who had been overseas were forced to remain silent about their experiences-> the myth of prosperity is absolutely essential to the regime survival-> problems with electronic communication such as the radios, cell phone, computers and Internet. There are also changes on their way in the social system: the notion of family background is weakening. However North Korean economy do not pay foreign imports-> other sources to pay the bills-> 1.export of missiles and nuclear weepers technology to middle eastern countries such as Iran and Syria 2.drug trafficking 3.counterfeiting North Korea’s nuclear program The legacy of the Korean War and the broader security environment of the Cold War set relations into a mode of permanent hostility-> North Korea’s behavior has been erratic and unpredictable It refuses to play by the rules, it has little choice but to exploit the security challenges it presents to the word. North Korea began its nuclear program in 1964 employing uranium mined in North Korea . Under the pressure from the Soviet union, on December 12, 1985, Pyongyang signed the nonproliferation treaty (NPT). Which require it to complete inspection of nuclear facilities by the IAEA (international atomic energy agency). On October 21, 1994 the United States and North Korea singed the Geneva Accords of the Korean Peninsula (known also has the agreed framework)-> however 2 changes in political climate: the Republicans took control of the Congress in 1994 with clean Clinton freedom limited; this that of Kim Il sung in 1994 interrupted the negotiation process. On June 6, 2001 the US government outlined a new American posture towards North Korea calling for North Korea’s disarmament (Bush administration’s policy). In 2002 North Korea restarted its nuclear weepers program and the United States suspended its oil program.-> On January 2003 North Korea announced that its withdrawal from the NPT. Clinton administration-> the approach was to exchange the nuclear weapons for a package including oil and light-water reactors Bush administration-> hard line outlining a denuclearization program without any guarantee of reciprocation from the United States The other parties to Talk had their own agendas: China Russia Japan and South Korea. On October 9, 2006 North Korea tested a nuclear device -> international condemnation and the United States propose an arms embargo. Reunification Three ways reunification: by force, by mutual consent or by negotiation. Russia is the only major power to openly advocate Korean reunification-> economically rewarding for Moscow 12. ASIAN TIGER the road to democracy in Korea as being a difficult one since democracy was introduced by Americans in South Korea and do not product of internal political dynamics-> Americans wanted to promote democracy to prevent the spread of communism (containment) Postwar governments In 1948 Syngman Rhee was elected president of the Republic of Korea: its anti-Communism played well among American conservatives. The successor government was headed by Prime Minister Chung Myun: military intervention in the political process began to emerge and there were serious problems in many areas. After Chung, a military government established control over society led by Gen. Park. Meanwhile North Korea took advantage of South Korea’s political turmoil by adopting an increasingly aggressive posture. Kim Jong Sam was elected in 1992 in the Republic of Korea-> campaign to eliminate corruption and administrative abuse and to encourage economic cooperation with the North but he was not attentive to policy issues. In 1997 of regions most rapidly developing economies, known as the Asian Tigers (Singapore Hong Kong Taiwan South Korea Thailand), experienced severe financial crisis beginning with the Japanese economic bubble. Kim Dae Jung was elected president in 1998, he was a pro-democracy dissident who undertook the sunshine policy which was intended to put relations with the North on a more open and productive footing. The political system in recent years South Korea has been progressing along the democratic development trajectory. Korea has amended its constitution or rewritten 9 times since 1948 within the context of six republics. South Korea's first 1948 Constitution, drafted by Dr. Chin-O Yu, provided for central control under the President. It was originally based on the Weimar system. It has been amended nine times and almost fully rewritten five times (constitutions of 1960, 1962, 1972, 1980, 1987). In 1919, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea promulgated a constitution of Korea, but it was ineffective in Colonial Korea. See also: Division of Korea. The 1949 Constitution was first amended in 1952 ahead of Syngman Rhee's re-election, providing for direct presidential elections and a bicameral legislature. It was passed with procedural irregularities after fierce debate. In 1954, Rhee again forced an amendment, removing term limits for himself and emphasizing a capitalistic economic model. Facing widespread public protests against these moves, the Second Republic began with the more democratic 1960 Constitution, creating a cabinet, a figurehead president, a bicameral legislature, an election commission, and a constitutional commission. It also provided for elections for supreme court justices and provincial governors, as well as natural law-based individual rights. With the May 16 coup of Park Chung-hee in 1961, the 1960 version was nullified, and in 1962, the Third Republic's Constitution was passed, with additional similarities to the United States Constitution, such as nominal judicial review functions. In 1972, Park extended his rule with the Fourth Republic constitution, called the Yusin Constitution, which gave the president sweeping (almost dictatorial) powers and permitted him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. After Park was assassinated in 1979, the Fifth Republic began with the 1980 Constitution under President Chun Doo-hwan. The president's powers were curbed somewhat, and he was barred from reelection after his seven-year term. It also provided for a unicameral legislature and a cabinet system. With the pro-democratic protests of 1987 (June Democracy Movement), the 1988 Constitution of the Sixth Republic was passed. The constitutional bill was passed by the National Assembly on October 12, 1987, and approved by 93 percent in a national referendum on October 28, taking effect on February 25, 1988, when Roh Tae-Woo was inaugurated as president. Today the government of South Korea is divided into three distinct branches reflecting the American preference for the separation of powers: the Executive branch consists of the head of state, the legislative branch and is a unicameral assembly with 299 members, the judicial branch consists of a supreme court the constitutional court to and lesser cords. There are two main parties: the Uri and the grand national party (GNP). The South Korean economy the economy has continued to grow since the financial shocks during the 1990s. In 2003, China became Seoul’s largest export market. The Chaebols (Korea’s huge family-owned and the family-managed business conglomerates) grew enormously in economic and political power under the carefully guidance and protection of successive military regimens. US- South Korea security relations according to the Cairo Accord, the United States military government was to facilitate the transition from colonial status to independence. This arrangement and it on our booster 15, 1948 when an independent Republic of Korea came into existence. However the military connection remained. 1954 the United States and South Korea singed a mutual defense treaty: the United States continues to defend the South Korea and the South Korea provided assistance during the Vietnam war. However the American military presence is becoming increasingly unpopular even more of the Japanese occupation JAPAN 13. JAPAN IN ISOLATION Japan existed for centuries in the shadow of China’s unrivaled achievements. The influence of China the dynamics of Japan Internal historical evolution often reflected developments originating elsewhere. Language the church politics and philosophy reflected Chinese influence, which came to Japan by way of Korea. … The three Shogunates … The rise of the Imperial system There were similarities between Japanese and Western feudalism: bodies of armed man obligated to Japan’s failure to exploit anticolonial sentiment was due to its own arrogance-> Japan made itself even more unpopular than Western colonialism, they failed to identify the interests of Southeast Asians with their own. Japan’s war plan was based on obsolete strategic concepts: Land warfare Aftermath of the war Japan did not attract the same degree of attention has the Nazis did at Nuremberg (final solution campaigns against the Jews…) Several issues were left unresolved: the partition of Korea and the political future of French Indochina-> focal points of Cold War confrontation The war in the Pacific produced several consequences: his demise of the ancient Confucian political system in China and its replacement with the Chinese hybrid form of communism; the political division of both Korea and Indochina; decline of Europe as strategic presence in Asia; growth of United States involvement, the advent of nuclear weapons. The Japanese experience with nuclear weapons produced in them a strong antagonism toward the existence of nuclear weapons-> three non-nuclear principles: no manufacturing, no procession, no positioning. 16. THE JAPANESE MIRACLE Japan’s postwar economic recovery was its second period of rapid industrial expansion and growing technological sophistication (the first was the period of economic modernization following the restoration in 1868). Japan was considered of minor important to the economic interests of the European imperialists and with its the military activities. Economic achievements in the 1970s and 1980s brought the Japanese once again the full and occasionally hostile attention of the international community (After the Meiji restoration the role of the samurai disappeared with the feudal system). Japan managed to make the transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy without experiencing the massive social dislocation that frequently attends this process: Rural poverty and urban unemployment were smaller problems, combination of private entrepreneurship and government support led to rapid growth in the manufacturing sector. The post-World war II economy Japan’s economic development following WW II was remarkable. They empathized the introduction of innovative processes: Japan concentrated the on best prospects for commercial success. Many factors for Japan’s economic success: National character, restrictive international trade practices, skilled labor force, no heavy military expenditure (three objectives: independence, survival and control). One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Japanese economic boom was an emphasis on capital expansion at the expense of both public and private consumption and the financial resources generated were reinvested to produce further growth. Japan’s national development was based the on an industrial development policy which included: increasing economic efficiency, producing excess competition and the protecting basic materials production for the domestic economy. By 1987 the government decided to reduce dependence on petroleum which led to develop alternative energy sources. The importance of top to bottom for socioeconomic Solidarity and the relative absence of divisive and additional relations-> intra-industrial price competition is minimized thank to government policy. Another reason for the stability of the system has been the extent of vertical integration among businesses: Suppliers which are integrated into a production system. In addition the emphasis on trade: exports as a function of economic reality (raw materials->export manufacture goods->raw materials) with the domestic market as the backbone. Strengths of the Japanese economy: emphasis on quality control, control system called just in time production to reduce costs and develop into by the Toyota motor Company in the 1930s, close cooperation in the movement of new technologies and products from concept to production, cooperation between subcontractors and large enterprise, emphasis on continuous change in product design, corporate philosophy of the of long-term market share, worker commitment to do well far of the company. Employment and compensation systems: Japanese workers have high incentive to learn new skills thanks to the existence of educational opportunities provided by business and industry. Other important factors determining social status are age and gender: compulsory retirement at 50 or 55 is common, and the retirement benefits are comparatively modest. Japanese save higher percentage of their incomes because benefits of retirement are insufficient. The export economy: postwar Japan maintained at high import barriers, using tariffs, quotas and control of for rain exchange-> after Japan began to feel increasing international pressure to lower import barriers and liberalize trade. Japan’s nation prosperity has been linked to the maintenance of an export economy with a perpetual balance of payments surplus. However the Japanese economy is not immune to the changes that are affecting other countries-> economic transformation after the Asian currency crisis in the late 1990s and dislocations at the international level. An area of dispute between Japan and its trading partners concerns agricultural products: considerable political influence wielded by the agricultural community, Public acceptance of the high cost of food. Boom and bust During the 1980s Boom, the loosening of regulations and monetary easing by the BOJ led to a rapid rise in the stock market and in property prices-> over construction with difficult to pay back the bank loans once that had been made for their construction. In the late 1990s the Japanese economy was entering the second decade of stagnation-> conservative approach took by the Ministry of finance. The global financial crisis of 2007 re-opened the debate in Japan on trade liberalization. 17. GOVERNMENTS AND POLITICS Japan is a democracy since WWII when commitment to the adoption of a democratic form of government had been made a condition of surrender. Democracy requires a formula for controlling political power, usually articulated in the form of a written constitution. The most important institutions in maintaining democracy are system of popular elections, judiciary, and legislative process. The Constitution to effect in May 1947 and the political system is more close to the British form of Parliamentary government. The legislative system The Japanese legislature (the Diet) does not possess the supreme power of the state, as does the British Parliament. Japanese experiences with legislative bodies goes back as the 1889 Constitution. DIET: The National Diet is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under parallel voting systems. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally responsible for selecting the Prime Minister. The Diet was first convened as the Imperial Diet in 1889 as a result of adopting the Meiji Constitution. The Diet took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the postwar constitution and is considered by the Constitution to be the highest organ of state power. The National Diet Building is located in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. - House of Representatives: Of 475 members, 295 are elected from single seat constituencies under the Single Member Plurality ("First-past-the-post") system, and 180 are elected from eleven separate electoral blocs under the party list system of proportional representation (PR). - House of Councillors: Of 242 members, 146 are elected from 47 prefectural constituencies by means of the Single Non-Transferable Vote. The remaining 96 are elected by open list PR from a single national list. In Japan, the dominance of the LDP throughout most of the postwar period has worked to define the legislative process. Compromise is usually reaching the through intensive bargaining, for example in 1960 when rancorous debate prevented the vote on the renewal of the mutual security treaty with the United States. The prime minister and the cabinet The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government of Japan. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the National Diet and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. He or she is the head of the Cabinet, appoints, and dismisses the other Ministers of State; the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Minister of the Comprehensive Administration of the Cabinet or President of the Cabinet - Minister. The office was created in 1885, four years before the enactment of the Meiji Constitution, which mentions neither cabinet nor prime minister explicitly. It took its current form with the adoption of the current constitution in 1947. The Prime Minister is also the leader of the legislative branch. Ministers (a majority of whom must be chosen from the Diet) are appointed and removed by the PM. The ministries of Japan are the most influential part of the executive branch of the Japanese government. A Minister of State appointed by the Prime Minister heads each ministry. In postwar politics, the posts of ministers have been given to senior legislators, mostly of the LDP. However, few ministers serve for more than one or two years to develop the necessary grasp of the organization to become influential. Thus, most of the power lies within the ministries, with the senior bureaucrats. Unlike for Koreas, Japanese politics has not involved the “cult of personality”. The Bureaucracy Bureaucrats are frequently more influential than bureaucrats in dictatorship are. This because of the turnover at the ministerial level that allows bureaucrats to build organizational strength. The public's attitude toward the elite is ambivalent. The elite enjoy great social prestige, but its members are also resented. They live in a realm that is at least partly public, yet far removed from the lives of ordinary people. Compared with politicians, they are generally viewed as honest. Involvement of top officials in scandals such as the Recruit affair, however, had to some extent tarnished their image. Japan's elite bureaucrats are insulated from direct political pressure because there are very few political appointments in the civil service. Cabinet ministers are usually career politicians, but they are moved in and out of their posts quite frequently (with an average tenure of under a year), and usually have little opportunity to develop a power base within a ministry, or force their civil service subordinates to adopt reforms. Below the cabinet minister is the administrative vice minister. Administrative vice-ministers and their subordinates are career civil servants whose appointments are determined in accordance with an internally