In this Book
- Nation Building in South Korea: Koreans, Americans, and the Making of a Democracy
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: The University of North Carolina Press
- Series: The New Cold War History
summary
In this ambitious and innovative study Gregg Brazinsky examines American nation building in South Korea during the Cold War. Marshaling a vast array of new American and Korean sources, he explains why South Korea was one of the few postcolonial nations that achieved rapid economic development and democratization by the end of the twentieth century. Brazinsky contends that a distinctive combination of American initiatives and Korean agency enabled South Korea's stunning transformation. On one hand, Americans supported the emergence of a developmental autocracy that spurred economic growth in a highly authoritarian manner. On the other hand, Americans sought to encourage democratization from the bottom up by fashioning new institutions and promoting a dialogue about modernization and development.
Expanding the framework of traditional diplomatic history, Brazinsky examines not only state-to-state relations, but also the social and cultural interactions between Americans and South Koreans. He shows how Koreans adapted, resisted, and transformed American influence and promoted socioeconomic change that suited their own aspirations. Ultimately, Brazinsky argues, Koreans' capacity to tailor American institutions and ideas to their own purposes was the most important factor in the making of a democratic South Korea.
Expanding the framework of traditional diplomatic history, Brazinsky examines not only state-to-state relations, but also the social and cultural interactions between Americans and South Koreans. He shows how Koreans adapted, resisted, and transformed American influence and promoted socioeconomic change that suited their own aspirations. Ultimately, Brazinsky argues, Koreans' capacity to tailor American institutions and ideas to their own purposes was the most important factor in the making of a democratic South Korea.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. 2-7
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xiv
- Introduction
- pp. 1-12
- 1. Security over Democracy
- pp. 13-40
- 3. Institution Building: The Military
- pp. 71-100
- 4. Toward Developmental Autocracy
- pp. 101-126
- 5. Development over Democracy
- pp. 127-162
- 6. Engaging South Korean Intellectuals
- pp. 163-188
- 7 Molding South Korean Youth
- pp. 189-222
- 8 Toward Democracy
- pp. 223-250
- Conclusion
- pp. 251-260
- Bibliography
- pp. 291-302
Additional Information
ISBN
9781469604862
Related ISBN(s)
9780807831205, 9780807861813, 9780807867792
MARC Record
OCLC
646875445
Pages
328
Launched on MUSE
2014-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No