Democratization in The Philippines and South Korea - Essay Example

Comparison of democratization in South Korea and the Philippines University Tutor Date Thesis chapter outline In this research I will start by analyzing the reforms that former presidents of the two countries initiated during the democratic movements and their effects on corruption, next I shall explore the role played by the religious groups and the civil society in fighting corruption and finally we shall see the effects of land reforms and its relationship with corruption. Introduction South Korea and the Philippines have been experiencing democratization processes over the last two decades which included reforms like constitutional changes, land reforms and human rights. However, in Korea the democratization process was more tailored to fight corruption than in the Philippines. We shall see later in the research that, anti-corruption movements in Korea started earlier even during the colonial regimes; in contrast we shall see how in the Philippines the regime did not embrace serious reforms aimed at fighting corruption Thesis statement South Korea is much less corrupt than the Philippines Approach/ method The research was done by collecting, interpreting and analyzing data and information from literature, books, internet and from Transparency International corruption index data for South Korea and the Philippines. Implications of Research This research would be able to show us the true relationship between democratization and corruption. It will give us the knowledge that corruption in a country is invited by lack of enough democratization. Reasons for supporting my thesis Let me start my essay by asking a pointed question. Why is it that South Korea has been praised by many scholars as a model developmental state with a competent and uncorrupt bureaucracy The correct answer is based on the reforms that the political leaders initiated during democratization and whose main objective was to curb corruption. According to Mr. Perkins (2004) the first civilian president of Korea was Kim Young-Sam (1993-97).Perkins argues that the president started far- reaching anti-corruption campaigns which to the public appeared to be genuine, the president introduced some reforms like exposure of assets by high level public officials and he amended the elections and political fund laws. Personally, he explains that the president led the campaign against corruption by declaring that he would not be receiving money as president the way the previous presidents used to. The author believes that Kim Young-Sam's campaign against corruption reached peak with the arrest and indictment of two former presidents on corruption charges. Kim Dae-jung's was the next president after Sam, the new president found public expectations for anti-corruption reforms being very high and similarly, he initiated some reforms that were basically based on transparency of public administration and other organizations and it is during his tenure when a comprehensive anti-corruption law was enacted (Cecil 2008). Next, and why is the Philippines more corrupt than South Korea Your answer, it has been performing poorly in the Transparency International corruption ranking tables than her neighbour.Well, Mr. Tony (2008) tells us that in the late 1960s the Philippines regime was challenged by rural insurgency and subsequently an urban protest movement. The author reports that the president Ferdinand Marcos, who himself had been elected amid accusations of electoral fraud and corruption declared martial law in 1972, this was in response to these insurgencies and the country was faced with several challenges. Under martial law, he argues that the Philippines was transformed from an elitist democracy into a "constitutional authoritarian" system. "Marcos friends and associates monopolized major industries, and cronyism and patron-client relations became a regular part of the governing process"(Tony 2008) . Political stability was gradually restored under the leadership of Fidel Ramos in 1980s, He did not, however, make much headway in redressing the nation's economic disparities corruption and poverty continued to eat the country (Tony 2008).The author reports that from this time to now ,the president of the country is always elected under charges of electoral fraud and corruption. When explaining why Korea is much less corrupt than the Philippines, Mr. Schmidt (2000) considers the part played by the religious group and the civil society. The author explains that democratic reforms and the growth of civil society seem to increasingly play a positive role in curbing corruption in Korea than in the Philippines .He argues that unlike Philippines, in Korea there was unity of religious groups in democratization movement and that the religious leaders in the democratization movement were naturally accepted by the general public as good shelters. Further more, he maintains that even during military dictatorial regimes some religious groups had taken the most important role in human rights movement. During this period Mr. Schmidt asserts that many religious leaders were put into jail and the government of the day was very oppressive. The author argues that it is on the background of this oppression that ironically made unity among various religious groups and with civil society in Korea. Complementing Schmidt work Mr.Celcil (2008) argues that Korea must be less corrupt than the Philippines because there was initiatives of religious groups in anti-corruption movement in Korea and they came up with the formation and operation of Transparency International (Korea chapter), this chapter the author argues is still in existence today and has been active in monitoring and campaigning against corruption. Moreover, Mr. Cecil explains that the religious group initiated anti-corruption education for their followers and believers and they made resolutions for that 'Evaluate and Vote' campaign. This, he explains was a campaign where believers were requested to participate in voting only after careful evaluation on the candidates. Cecil concludes by telling us that some religious leaders in Korea have been teaching their believers sermons on anti-corruption subject. "A well spirited and most important anti-corruption campaign came from civil society. Civil society organizations in Korea started "campaign for fair and clean elections" since 1991, and it is believed that it contributed considerably to monitoring politicians and to increasing public awareness. Civil society organizations upgraded their anti-corruption movement in 2000 when they released a list of corrupt politicians and launched negative campaign to defeat them" (Albeto 2007).This the author argues that made Korea to improve its international position on transparency international corruption scale. A keen observer may ask: And what role did the land reforms play to make Korea much less corrupt than the Philippines Mr. Tella (1999) argues that land reform was exogenously given to Korea, where landlords lost political power because of their collaboration with the Japanese colonial rule. Some observers report corruption decreased substantially after the land reforms, in contrast, Mr. Tella believes that failure of land reform in the Philippines led to a high level of inequality and corruption. In the Philippines the very inequitable distribution of land and high levels of tenancy has had negative effects on both the economy and politics. Concentration of wealth in land has deprived industry of capital, while tenants have been more reluctant to make investments in the land they till than are owner-cultivators. The perpetuation of land-derived wealth in local communities has helped sustain the patron-client system that is such an important obstacle to genuine democratization. Thus, the levels of corruption in Korea have been much lower than that in the Philippines (Perkins 2004). Conclusion In summary, it can be argued that a central factor working in favor of Korean democratization is that the people took direct action in a revolutionary circumstances and forced political reforms, while a persistent source of weakness in the Philippines democracy is the general feeling that it lacks grass roots. Works cited Albeto F, 2007. Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization. New York: Oxford University Press Cecil, 2008 "Rents, Competition and Corruption", Oxford: Oxford University Press Perkins D, 2004. Rural Development: Studies in The Modernization Of The Republic Of Korea: Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Schmidt V, 2000. The State, Economic Transformation, And Political Change in the Philippines, Singapore: Oxford University Press. Tella D, 1999.Distributive Politics and Economic Growth, London: McGraw Hill Tony P, 2008.The Political Process of Democratization in South Korea. London. Prentice Hall Read More