There has been a widespread perception tha t politics in South Korea and Taiwan have become increasingly polarized in recent elections. Are the electorates in both countries also polarized\, an d if so\, what are the sources of this polarization? Visiting Scholar Hyunj i Lee will briefly discuss some common causes of the recent social movement s in both countries -- i.e.\, the candlelight protests in Korea (2008) and the Sunflower movement in Taiwan (2014) -- and identify some similarities a nd differences between Korea and Taiwan in the patterns of political cleava ges. More specifically\, Hyunji Lee employs "affect" rather than "ideology " as an indicator of mass polarization\, and find that the electorates both in Korea and Taiwan are clearly polarized when defined in terms of likes a nd dislikes toward political parties ("affect"). Hyunji Lee will demonstra te that political trust or a lack thereof is at the root of affective polar ization both in Korea and Taiwan. Discontent regarding democratic represen tation is closely associated with cold feelings toward the ruling right-win g party in each country\; and Hyunji Lee argues that this may reflect the p ersistence of a softer version of the old pro-democracy vs. anti-democracy cleavage that originated during the pre-democratic period.
Ab out the Speaker
Hyunji Lee\, is a Visiting Researcher at IAR . Hyunji’s research focus is concentrated on public opinion and policies a bout issues that entail risk and uncertainty\; impacts of parties and elect oral systems on policy-making (South Korea and Taiwan)\; and gender differe nces in public opinion.
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Sponsor: Institu
te of Asian Research\, Centre for Korean Research
By:
Hyunji Lee\, IAR Research Associate
Type: Discussion