ulnerable Consolidation of Democracy in South Korea

Abstract

This research scrutinizes the process of democratic consolidation in South Korea, focusing on interactions of political actors. This study assumes that if democratization depends on political interactions, the status of the outcomes tends to be fluctuating, and examines the  research hypothesis that democratic transition of South Korea was the outcomes of strategic interactions between political actors, by analyzing the political conjuncture of presidential nomination in 1992 as a crucial moment of democratic transition in South Korea, with a rational choice theory: a game theory model. The results show that strategic interaction of political actors determined the process of transitions, even after the founding election. This research also clarifies that the weakness of the political society and severe regionalism, which are derived from patrimonialism, are the vital elements for fluctuating consolidation in South Korea.

Keywords: Democratization, Democratic Consolidation, Rational Choice Theory