Page 143 - kpi18886

135

Thailand and South Korea have many things in
common in terms of democratization and democratic
consolidation. Even though Thailand changed its regime
from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy
85 years ago, Thailand and Korea began its recent
democratization around 30 years ago. Both countries rode
so called ‘the Third Wave of Democratization’, as
American political scientist Samuel Huntington put in his
book “The Third Wave of Democratization in the Late
Twentieth Century” published in 1991. In other words,
we are all new democracies. As Huntington pointed out,
about 30 years ago many former authoritarian regimes
all around the world went through the processes of
democratization. Interestingly, it occurred in a similar
period. These countries include the Philippines, Indonesia,
Taiwan and some other Asian countries, Brazil, Argentina,
Chile, Uruguay and other Latin American countries, Poland,
Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary and many other
East European countries, and South Africa and so on.
Since such a political wave hit those countries about 30
years have passed. However, political realities in
many new democracies today show that democratic
consolidation is never an easy goal. Democratization does
not necessarily lead to a sudden and complete severance
from an old authoritarian regime. Most newly democratic
countries still remain a mixture of democracy and
authoritarian legacies. And the consolidation process often
faces backlashes, and is vulnerable to a “reverse wave”.
Among others, such new democracies as Turkey, Hungary,
the Philippines, and Russia may be examples to demonstrate
the difficulties of sustainable democracy.

th
Year 2017 marks the 30 anniversary of Korea’s
democratization. From a comparative perspective, Korea
has made a remarkable progress in terms of democratic