Electoral Systems: The Miracle on the Han River
Elections form essential determinants of the democratic levels in any states. Experience has increasingly suggested that the developments of electoral systems that conduct election activities in isolation from the broader political contests are contributing factors to any prevailing political problem that requires democratic solutions. The phrase “miracle on the Han River” describes the rapid economic development of South Korea from the 1960s onwards. In a very short time, the Republic of Korea has achieved a political transformation that occurred in the past quarter-century and has graduated from military dictatorship to the twentieth most democratic country in the world, and the most democratic in Asia, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. East Asia today is a mixture of liberalism, oligarchy, capitalism, and corruption. (O’Neil 201) and given the general lack of democracy in Asia, it is necessary know how South Korea has embraced democracy so strongly. This paper engages in comparative analysis of electoral systems in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and North Korea in relation to the impact of these systems on democracy.
South Korea operates on a plurality electoral system, which has been helping the country in determining the formation of the party system in 2007 presidential elections (Bailey 33). This electoral system discouraged the formation of large, various parties and this encouraged the grumpy, and
We know that democracies are common among the economically urbanized countries and rare between the very deprived ones. The reason we scrutinize this pattern is not that democracies are more probable to emerge, as a result, of economic development but that they are to a large extent more possible to survive if they occur to emerge in most urbanized countries. The paths to democracy are diverse. Indeed, they appear to follow no unsurprising pattern. But once democracy is conventional, for whatever reasons, its endurance depends on a few, easily particular, factors.
Australia is made up of numerous parties that represent the people, whereas North Korea have one party; Korean workers party. They also have two minor parties, Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under Korean Workers Party control) and Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under Korean Workers Party control). The Korean Workers' Party is North Korea's most politically important entity. In Australia it is compulsory to vote by the time you turn eighteen years old. Australian law has numerous conditions which must be met in order to create a political party. To start with, the party must have a written constitution. It must aim to achieve the election of members to the House of Representatives or Senate. Also must have either five hundred members whose names appear on the electoral roll, or have at least one member who is a current member of the Federal Parliament. The Korean workers party is the only party you can vote for and is backed up by the military. Elections in North Korea are held every five years. At the national level, North Koreans elect a legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly. In addition to the Supreme People's Assembly, the people elect representatives to city, county, and provincial. All seats are won by the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland. The Workers' Party of Korea dominates the Front and holds majority
The government structure of North Korea has its existence in one man, Kim Jong Un. It existed in his father, Kim Jong Il, before him, and in his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, before him. North Korea has one of the few successful hereditary dictatorships based on a personalistic regime where the leaders are worshipped as almost a deity (after Kim Il-sung’s death he was made “eternal president”) creating a dynastic transfer of power (Aoki, 2012). In China the one party of the Chinese Communist Party will rule as an Authoritarian body over the nation, but in North Korea the sole power rest dangerously in the arms of one person. Some of the reason for this dissimilarity between the two government structures lies in the country’s differing political cultures.
Every country differs in their preference of political system to govern their countries. For democratic countries, two possible choices of governing are the presidential system and the parliamentary system. Since both the presidential and the parliamentary systems have their own strengths and weaknesses, many scholars have examined these two forms of government, and debate on which political system is more successful in governance. In this paper, I will first provide a detailed analysis of both the parliamentary and the presidential system. I will also evaluate each system’s strengths and weaknesses, addressing any differences as well as any commonalities. Finally, I will conclude by using historical examples to analyze and support the
Although the emperor had absolute power, it was the complex bureaucracy that primarily administered the Han Empire. The three key positions that assisted the emperor in supervising the complex bureaucracy and providing advice were the chancellor, the imperial secretary, and the grand commandant. The grand tutor could also be included among these individuals, but there were only four grand tutors throughout the history of the Han Dynasty. Furthermore, the key ministries of ceremonies, agriculture, imperial household and the lesser treasury carried out the main functions of government such as imperial ritual, the management of the imperial palace, taxation, revenue, the health, safety, and entertainment of the emperor, monetary policy (coinage),
The Yuan dynasty established by Mongol nomads ruled portions and eventually all of China from the early 13th century to 1368. In spite of the gradual assimilation of Yuan monarchs, the Mongol conquest imposed a harsh new political reality upon China. As the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan initially adopted the political system of Han people. First, he set up the department 'Zhongshu Sheng' to administrate the national affairs; the department 'Shumi Yuan' was established to govern the national military affair and the ministry 'Yushi Tai' functioned as the supervision department. In this way, a centralized political system was founded, guaranteeing the stability of the whole nation. In the Ilkhanate empire, there was also a administration
Free elections were held throughout Korea in 1947. The idea was for North Korea and South Korea to elect their own governments, but still be somewhat
During this essay, the significant characteristics of Australia will be compared and contrasted amongst the anomalous North Korean political system. The evolution of both countries will be thoroughly discussed, stating the unorthodox punishments and constitutions. The Australian democracy and constitution has many differentiations to the North Korean dictatorship and therefore will be highlighted in this essay.
In Jonathan D. Spence’s book, Treason By The Book, we are introduced to Qing China during the rule of the Yongzheng Emperor who, during his reign, must investigate a scandal involving dissident, rogue scholars who threaten the Chinese imperial system. The imperial system revolves entirely around the emperor who must rule benevolently, and as an autocrat. As is typical of an autocrat, the Emperor rules by divine right, and as a result has no checks on his power by law or citizenry, contains some elements of arbitrariness such as cronyism, nepotism and overruling officials based on what comes down to emotion, and has a vast bureaucracy capable of tracking down and interrogating anyone accused of being a dissident, including other officials. Therefore, despite Emperor Yongzheng’s noble attitudes and ideas, evidence within Treason By The Book shows that Yongzheng is unequivocally an autocrat, because he fits all the previously listed criteria.
The stability and reliability of political authority in China, namely a centralized monarchy, differed from Rome’s so-called republic, which provoked rebellion and political chaos due to the local authorities’ focus on expansion and lack of control in the empire. Political stability was dominant feature throughout most of classical China, although times of warring, namely the Era of Warring States (5th to 3rd c. CE) and the Age of Division (3rd to 6th c. CE), did exist. However, the success of the dynastic structure of Chinese governments has been constant for almost the entirety of Chinese history, and brief periods of conflict are insignificant in comparison. The contrast in political leadership is illustrated by how supreme authority was
Democracy has become the most widespread political form of government during the past decade, after the fall of all its alternatives. During the second part of the 20th century, the 3 main enemies of democracy, namely communism, fascism and Nazism, lost most of their power and influence. However, democracy is still only to be found in less than half of this world's countries. China with a fifth of the total population "had never experienced a democratic government" and Russia still doesn't have a well established democracy. By adopting a democratic perspective, 3 types of governments emerge, non-democratic, new democracies, and old democracies, and all have a different challenge to overcome: either to become democratic, to "consolidate"
In South Korea, particularly, the major political parties and its system with cleavages are firmed by regional fragment national identity in its
With the creation of a popular democratic front, KIM IL SUNG will be a suitable candidate to head it” (Report on Communists in Korea). If it weren’t for the Soviets, there would be less separation and the North and South Korean governments would be completely different. The author refers to the mass separation between the two parties but doesn’t really pay any attention to it, “In South Korea, besides the Communist Party, the strongest party is the Democratic Party, which represents the interests of the big landowners and capitalists. The party numbers about 10,000 and is headed by Song Jin-u. The party openly engages in pro-imperialist and anti-Communist propaganda”(Report on Communists in Korea). The Cold War affected North Korea in ways other than politically, also.
South Korea has a liberal democratic government type. The liberal democratic government type can be described as a political ideology and a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of liberalism. Overall, the government is stable despite one of the top issues of business complaints is dealing with political instability. South Korea has elections by popular vote for the President every five years. The Presidency is limited to one five year term. The government is also consistent because of the election frequency.
At the end of World War II, Korea was a poor former agricultural colony of Japan. But the rapid growth of Korea’s industrial economy has been remarkable. The economy of South Korea is now the third-largest in Asia and the 13th largest in the world by GDP as of 2007. To trace back the economic development of South Korea, the former president Park Chung-Hee played a pivotal role, and was credited for shifting its focus to export-oriented favoring a few large conglomerates. Unlike his predecessors, Park showed a strong commitment to economic development, believing good economic performance as a primary means for enhancing his political legitimacy. Under the President Park Chung-Hee’s era, the government played a dominating role in a