South Korea Since 1980

This 2010 book examines the changes in politics, economics, society, and foreign policy in South Korea since 1980. Starting with a brief description of its history leading up to 1980, this book deals with South Korea's transition to democracy, the stunning economic development achieved since the 1960s, the 1997 financial crisis, and the economic reforms that followed and concludes with the North Korean nuclear crisis and foreign relations with regional powers. The theoretical framework of this book addresses how democratization affected all of these dimensions of South Korea. For instance, democratization allowed for the more frequent alternation of political elites from conservative to liberal and back to conservative. These elites initiated different policies for dealing with North Korea and held different views on South Korea's role in its alliance with the United States. Consequently, ideological divides in South Korean politics became more stark and the political process more combative.

Uk Heo is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a Korean native and has widely written on Korean politics and security. His work has appeared in the Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, British Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Peace Research, International Interactions, Armed Forces and Society, Asian Survey, and others. He is a former president of the Association of Korean Political Studies. Terence Roehrig is Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S, Naval War College. He is the author of two books, From Deterrence to Engagement: The U.S. Defense Commitment to South Korea (2006) and The Prosecution of Former Military Leaders in Newly Democratic Nations: The Cases of Argentina, Greece, and South Korea (2002), and a co-editor of Korean Security in a Changing East Asia (2007). Professor Roehrig has published numerous articles and book chapters on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Korean and East Asian security issues, deterrence theory, the U.S.-South Korea alliance, human rights, and transitional justice. Professor Roehrig is a former president of the Association of Korean Political Studies.