Nation Building in South Korea: Koreans, Americans, and the Making of a Democracy (The New Cold War History) - Softcover

Brazinsky, Gregg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807831204 ISBN 13: 9780807831205

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr, 2007

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Book Description

"Gregg Brazinsky's book is one of the finer treatments of the United States' choices and role in democracy building in South Korea in the early postwar years through Park Chung Hee's Yusin system. It is an empirically rich and original piece of work that should be read by all experts in the field as well as generalists of Asia and of politics."--Victor D. Cha, Georgetown University

From the Inside Flap

Brazinsky 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. He contends that a distinctive combination of American initiatives and Korean agency enabled South Korea's stunning transformation. 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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0807831204
• ISBN 13: 9780807831205
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 311