• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.562-574
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• 2003

This study examines the emerging global city-regions theory and suggests its implications for regional development policy in Korea. Global city-regions defined as an economic and political organization of metropolitan regions or a new scale of urban organization with polycentric structure, is appreciated as a new regionalist model of development in the globalization era. In Korea, the application of global city-regions model is required particularly for strengthening the international competitiveness of metropolitan areas except the capital region including Seoul, and resolving inequalities between the capital region and non-capital regions. However, Institutional revolution including consolidation of Shi(metropolitan area) and Do(province), and devolution should be preceded above all things to develop metropolitan cities such as Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, and Daejeon toward global city-regions.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.1-28
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• 2012

In this study, labor force projections are made in order to examine the process and magnitude of labor shortage caused by population ageing in Korea. Starting from theoretical review and analysis of population projection data, this study presents that serious transitions of labor market are expected to begin between 2020 and 2030. This study shows even in case of encouraging higher labor participation, labor shortage cannot be offset but only delay and alleviate effects of population ageing. Finally, this study points out some important implications of labor policy including sensitive social and political issues which should be considered.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.259-277
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• 2021

This article investigates the geopolitics of the energy transition era, concentrating on China's solar photovoltaic (PV) industry. Authors have noted that the rise of renewables is changing the geopolitical landscape of world energy systems, but these new energy sources carry their own technical characteristics and geopolitical implications. Bearing this in mind, this research answers the questions: What are the structural factors that facilitate China's use of renewable energy to achieve political goals, and what are their implications? In order to analyze the data, I devise an analytical framework based on the energy statecraft literature and contrast rival explanations, particularly the "prosumer theory" and the premise of less geopolitical interdependence in a renewable-centered world. I show that asymmetric interdependence in the solar PV sector is already a reality. China's solar PV industry is a case that suffices all conditions (centrality in industrial capacity, market share, and companies' compliance, but to a lesser extent in critical materials and technological endowments) in the solar PV sector to devise effective strategies aimed at reaping benefits out of its asymmetric interdependence with the rest of the world.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.91-118
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• 2021

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China's contribution to the need for the world to collectively address deficits of peace, development, governance, and problems relating to climate, the environment and human health. The rise of China and the BRI do challenge the current 'rules-based global order' and the economic dominance and moral, political, economic, and cultural leadership of the United States and its allies. However, China's goal is not hegemony but a multipolar world in which common values coexist with principles of peaceful coexistence (including non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states). The evolution of the BRI is outlined, and the ways in which it reflects Chinese interests are summarized, including its roles in addressing natural resource dependence and excess capacity, a transition from investment promotion and factor-intensive growth to going out and industrial upgrading, going West, and the effective deployment of China's foreign exchange assets. Although China does therefore potentially gain, the BRI is designed so that partners also gain in a quest for win-win co-operation and mutual benefit. The values that underlie this approach and the call for a community with a shared future are compared with competing western values, whose roots lie in Enlightenment thought and are associated with a record of colonialism and imperialism. In this light, the article concludes with a consideration of the global implications of the BRI, the challenges it confronts and the likelihood that the unipolar moment will give way to a multipolar global development path.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.213-261
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• 2018

On May 9, 2018, regime change took place in Malaysia. It was the first regime change that took place in 61 years after independence in 1957. The regime change was an unexpected result not only in Malaysian experts but also in political circles. Moreover, the outcome of the election was more shocking because the opposition party was divided in this general election. The regime change in Malaysia was enough to attract worldwide attention because it meant the collapse of the oldest regime in the modern political system that exists, except North Korea and China. How could this have happened? In particular, how could the regime change, which had not been accomplished despite opposition parties' cooperation for almost 20 years, could be achieved with the divided opposition forces? What political implications does the 2018 general election result have for political change and democratization in Malaysia? How will the Malaysian politics be developed in the aftermath of the regime change? It is worth noting that during the process of finding answers, a series of general elections since the start of reformasi in 1998 tended to be likened to a series of "tsunami" in the Malaysian electoral history. This phenomenon of tsunami means that, even though very few predicted the possibility of regime change among academia, civil society and political circles, the regime change was not sudden. In other words, the regime in 2018 was the result of the desire and expectation of political change through a series of elections of Malaysian voters last 20 years. In this context, this study, in analyzing the results of the election in 2018, shows that the activation of electoral politics triggered by the reform movement in 1998, along with the specific situational factors in 2018, could lead to collapse of the ruling government for the first time since independence.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.3 no.1 s.5
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• pp.105-156
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• 2003

This paper aims to explore the cause and aspect of inter-ministerial policy conflict and its coordination in science and technology policy-making with the case of science and technology basic law-making process in Korea. This law-making processes are analysed through the three periods for the last 10 years starting 1992, such as law-formulation(1st) period, interim law-making (2nd) period, and final law-making(3rd) period. Based on these steps, it tries to concretely describe the phenomenon of policy conflict and the coordination mechanism among government departments and analyses the characteristics of dynamic interaction and mutual adjustment among the related agencies. The analysis is mainly focussed on the underlying causes and determinants of policy conflict, the development and coordination process of the conflict, the strategies and logics of the conflict participants, and eliciting some policy implications for effective policy coordination among government departments. Research results are summarized as follows. First, in science and technology policy-making the main causes of policy conflict among government departments are attributed to the difference of policy-orientation and jurisdiction-orientation of each agency. During the first period, the main aspect of policy conflict was policy-oriented, during the second, the main aspects of policy conflict were both policy-oriented and jurisdiction-oriented, and during the third, policy-oriented conflict was dominant. Second, the dominant typology and strategies of policy coordination which the participants used were vertical-political and horizontal-analytic approach. During the first period, horizontal and analytical approach were used, during the second, horizontal and political approach are mixedly used, and during the third, vertical and political approach were dominantly used. Third, The Korean National Assembly and the ruling party played a pivotal role in science and technology policy-making process(the basic law-making process) in particular during the final period.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.41-63
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• 2016

Energy policy is known to have higher path dependency among policy fields (Kuper and van Soest, 2003; OECD, 2012; Kikkawa, 2013) and is a critical component of the infrastructure development undertaken in the early stages of nation building. Actor roles, such as those played by interest groups, are firmly formed, making it unlikely that institutional change can be implemented. In resource-challenged Japan, energy policy is an especially critical policy area for the Japanese government. In comparing energy policy making in Japan and Germany, Japan’s policy community is relatively firm (Hartwig et al., 2015), and it is improbable that institutional change can occur. The Japanese government’s approach to energy policy has shifted incrementally in the past half century, with the most recent being the 2012 implementation of the “Feed-In Tariff Law” (Act on Special Measures Concerning Procurement of Renewable Electric Energy by Operators of Electric Utilities), which encourages new investment in renewable electricity generation and promotes the use of renewable energy. Yet, who were the actors involved and the factors that influenced the establishment of this new law? This study attempts to assess the factors associated with implementing the law as well as the roles of the relevant major actors. In answering this question, we focus on identifying the policy networks among government, political parties, and interest groups, which suggests that success in persuading key economic groups could be a factor in promoting the law. Our data is based on the “Global Environmental Policy Network Survey 2012-2013 (GEPON2)” which was conducted immediately after the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake with respondents including political parties, the government, interest groups, and civil society organizations. Our results suggest that the Feed in Tariff (FIT) Law’s network structure is similar to the information network and support network, and that the actors at the center of the network support the FIT Law. The strength of our research lays in our focus on political networks and their contributing mechanism to the law’s implementation through analysis of the political process. From an academic perspective, identifying the key actors and factors may be significant in explaining institutional change in policy areas with high path dependency. Close examination of this issue also has implications for a society that can promote renewable and sustainable energy resources.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.107-137
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• 2016

By analyzing a nationwide survey on Korean publics, this study examines the social determinants of public support for three types of scientific research-basic research aimed at pure knowledge, applied research toward industrial application, and research for social problem-solving which aims to enhance ordinary citizens' quality of life. The present study finds the differential effects of social- and political value orientations on the level of public support for respective types of research. As ones have more progressive in their subjective political orientations, they are more likely to support research for social problem-solving than other types of research, while conservatives tend to support basic research and those with neo-liberal ideology tend to support applied research. The Korean public also tends to perceive research for social problem-solving as a counter to basic research while it has been developed against the conventional emphasis on applied research in Korea. Also, the level of support for research for social problem-solving increases with the higher level of trust in scientific authority and expertise, while it has been developed against expertism and included public engagement in science as an important element. Finally, those who have lower income tend to support for research for social problem-solving than other types of research. The implications of these findings are discussed.

• Iberoamérica
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.93-134
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• 2021

With the inauguration of the Bolsonaro administration in 2019, Brazil experienced a noticeable transformation in its policy lines at home and abroad. Limiting this change to diplomacy, it can be pointed out that pro-U.S. and anti-China diplomacy, which is clearly distinguished from the previous regimes, has begun in earnest. Nevertheless, the existing literature on this topic is limited, and it is mainly poetic reporting through the media. This paper aims to derive the main determinant of Bolsonaru's pro-U.S. and anti-China diplomatic lines by postulating the individual level of the political leader as a key variable. This study argues that his personal experience and beliefs and world views formed by his life history, and Bolsonaro's political calculation that would strengthen his domestic political support through linking between his domestic politics and diplomatic lines, ultimately influenced the dependent variable. This study is thought to be meaningful in that it enhanced the theoretical implications of not only the theory of foreign policy determinants but also the understanding of Brazil's foreign policy by explaining the factors of Brazil's pro-U.S. and anti-China diplomacy through focusing on an individual level.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.87-108
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• 2013

With questionnaires conducted for 613 adult Koreans in Seoul, the present study examined how their social features (income level, political party identification, political values, values of capitalism and egalitarianism) exercise influence on attitudes toward income polarization and their evaluation of government policies. Two groups of participants (high vs. low) for each social feature were formed first. Then their attitudes toward income polarization (liberal vs. conservative) and evaluations of policies (liberal vs. conservative) exercised by government (Participatory vs. Practical) were compared. Results indicated that liberal value was strengthened by liberal value, anti-capitalistic, and conservative value was strengthened by egalitarian values, and party identification. It was also found that party identification partial effect on the judgment of policies exercised by Participatory Government. These findings were discussed in terms of their implications for Korean society and measures for communication constructive for settlement of income polarization were suggested.