TY - JOUR
T1 - Democratization, Political Parties and Korean Welfare Politics
T2 - Korean Family Policy Reforms in Comparative Perspective
AU - Lee, Soohyun Christine
PY - 2017/1/9
Y1 - 2017/1/9
N2 - Recent reforms of family policy signal a turning point in the Korean welfare state, as they undermine the welfare developmentalism that is commonly ascribed to Korean social policy. Drawing on the East Asian as well as Western welfare state literatures, the research seeks to understand the politics behind family policy reforms. In doing so, the research argues that political parties were the driver of these reforms contrary to the conventional “parties do not matter” perspective that dominates the East Asian welfare state literature. Utilizing the party competition thesis from the study of Western welfare states, it demonstrates that political parties, the unlikely reform agency due to their perceived non-policy-orientation, moved family policy to centre stage of election campaigns. Far-reaching changes in the electorate, namely the diminishing effect of regionalism and the increasing importance of young voters, incentivized parties to promote family policy. Thus, the research calls for bringing political parties into the analysis of East Asian welfare politics.
AB - Recent reforms of family policy signal a turning point in the Korean welfare state, as they undermine the welfare developmentalism that is commonly ascribed to Korean social policy. Drawing on the East Asian as well as Western welfare state literatures, the research seeks to understand the politics behind family policy reforms. In doing so, the research argues that political parties were the driver of these reforms contrary to the conventional “parties do not matter” perspective that dominates the East Asian welfare state literature. Utilizing the party competition thesis from the study of Western welfare states, it demonstrates that political parties, the unlikely reform agency due to their perceived non-policy-orientation, moved family policy to centre stage of election campaigns. Far-reaching changes in the electorate, namely the diminishing effect of regionalism and the increasing importance of young voters, incentivized parties to promote family policy. Thus, the research calls for bringing political parties into the analysis of East Asian welfare politics.
U2 - 10.1017/gov.2016.44
DO - 10.1017/gov.2016.44
M3 - Article
SN - 0017-257X
JO - GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION
JF - GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION
ER -
