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31295019149813.Pdf (6.632Mb) WHY DO CITIZENS PROTEST IN NEW DEMOCRACIES?: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PROTEST POTENTIAL IN MEXICO, SOUTH AFRICA, AND SOUTH KOREA by YOUNG-CHOUL KIM, B.S., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN POLITICAL SCIENCE Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Chairperson of the Committee " < • • "• ^ \ Accepted Dean of the Graduate School December, 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT vi LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER L INTRODUCTION 1 Organization of the Study and Summary 6 IL THE LITERATURE 9 Unconventional Forms of Political Participation 10 Concept of Unconventional Forms of Political Participation 12 Perspectives of Unconventional Forms of Political Participation 19 Socio-Psychological Perspective 21 Rational Choice Perspective 26 Cultural Change Perspective 30 The Other Perspective 34 Summary 35 m. CASE STUDIES 39 Mexico 40 Historical Background 40 Democratization 42 Summary and Unconventional Forms of Political Participation 44 South Africa 48 Historical Background 48 Democratization 50 Summary and Unconventional Forms of Political Participation 52 South Korea 55 Historical Background 55 Democratization 60 Summary and Unconventional Forms of Political Participation 62 Summary 64 IV. VARIABLES, DATA, AND METHOD 75 Introduction 75 Hypotheses 77 Indicators and Variables 78 The Dependent Variable: Unconventional Forms of Political Participation 78 The Independent Variables 80 Baseline 80 Cognitive Skills 82 Value Changes 83 Dissatisfaction 84 The Control Variable and Dummy Variables 87 Data Source 89 Method 91 Summary 92 ni V. BIVARIATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE VARIABLES 95 Variations of Dependent and Independent Variables 96 Bivariate Relationships Between Independent and Dependent Variables 99 Associations Between Variables in the Three New Democracies 100 Correlations Between Independent Variables 101 Correlation Between the Independent Variables and Dependent Variable 102 Associations Between Variables In Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea 104 Corre lations Between Independent Variables 104 Correlation Between the Independent Variables and Dependent Variable 105 VI. DETERMINANTS OF UNCONVENTIONAL FORMS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 112 Intra-Differences in the Three New Democracies 112 Baseline 115 Cognitive Skills 116 Dissatisfaction 117 Value Change 118 Dummies 118 Summary of Intra-Differences 119 Differences by the Process of Democratization 121 Inter-State Differences 123 IV Mexico 124 South Africa 125 SouthKorea 126 Summary of Inter-State Model Differences 126 Summary 130 VL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 139 Closing Thoughts 144 REFERENCES 146 ABSTRACT This study focuses on individual level explanations of unconventional forms of political participation in the three new democracies: Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea. The purpose of the study is to examine four most discussed approaches on protest: (1) Baseline, (2) Cognitive Skills, (3) Dissatisfaction, and (4) Value Change approaches. Various determinants from these four approaches at individual level are hypothesized to affect unconventional forms of political participation. First, the Baseline approach hypothesizes that younger, male, and more educated individuals with higher incomes are more likely to participate in protest activities. Second, the Cognitive Skills approach assumes that as individuals are more cognitively mobilized, they are more likely to engage in protest activities. Third, the Dissatisfaction approach hypothesizes that individuals' dissatisfaction on their govemments and their material well-being and life increases the likelihood of participation in protest activities. Finally, the Value Change approach assumes that individuals' new values such as postmaterialist concerns promote their participation in protest activities. To test those four approaches nine predictor variables are raised. The data set employed in this study is derived from the first, second, and third World Values Surveys in 1981-82, 1990-93, and 1995-97 for the three new democracies. In order to test these main hypotheses and sub-hypotheses, this study conducts OLS regression analyses pooled data set of three countries as well as data set of each country. The results of the study define that there exist not only intra-differences, but also inter-state differences on the four approaches' explanatory power to protest VI potential in the three new democracies. For example. Cognitive Skills approach's explanatory power is stronger than that of Dissatisfaction approach in the three new democracies. Baseline factors and Value Change approach appear to have relatively strong explanatory power to protest potential in the three new democracies. However, Dissatisfaction approach's explanatory power to protest potential is very limited in the three new democracies. In addition, among the four approaches. Cognitive Skills approach appears to have the strongest explanatory power in relation to protest potential in Mexico and South Africa. The second powerfiil approach in the two nations is Baseline factors. In contrast, the strongest explanatory power in relation to protest potential in South Korea is made by Baseline factors and followed by Cognitive Skills and Value Change approaches. In addition, the results of the study also find that there exist differences on the four approaches' explanatory power to protest potential in the three new democracies by the process of democratization. Value Change approach's explanatory power to protest potential had increased during the process of democratization in the three new democracies, whereas Baseline factors. Cognitive Skills, and Dissatisfaction approaches' explanatory power to protest potential had decreased in that times. vn LIST OF TABLES 3-1: Comparative Cross-National Socio-Economic Indicators in Mexico, South Africa, and SouthKorea 67 3-2: World Values Surveys and Inauguration of Democracy in Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea 68 3-3: Unconventional Forms of Political Participation in Mexico (%) 69 3-4: Unconventional Forms of Political Participation in South Africa (%) 71 3-5: Unconventional Forms of Political Participation in South Korea (%) 73 4-1: World Values Surveys in Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea 94 5-1: Variations of Unconventional Forms of Political Participation (%) 108 5-2: Statistics of Independent Variables 109 5-3: Associations Between Variables In The Three New Democracies 110 5-4: Associations Between Variables in Mexico, South Africa, and SouthKorea Ill 6-1: Multiple Regression of Protest Potential in the Three New Democracies 132 6-2: Multiple Regression of Protest Potential in the Three New Democracies (R-square Change) 133 6-3: Multiple Regression of Protest Potential in Mexico 134 6-4: Multiple Regression of Protest Potential in South Africa 135 6-5: Multiple Regression of Protest Potential in South Korea 136 6-6: Multiple Regression of Protest Potential in Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea (R-square Change) 137 6-7: Resuhs of Multiple Regression Analyses 138 vni LIST OF FIGURES 2-1: Conceptual Diagram of the Dimensionality of Unconventional Political Behavior 38 3-1: Unconventional Forms of Political Participation in Mexico 70 3-2: Unconventional Forms of Political Participation in South Africa 72 3-3: Unconventional Forms of Political Participation in South Korea 74 IX CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION It was already clear by the early 1970s that mass unconventional political participation - doing things that went well beyond voting and canvassing for political parties - was spreading out and becoming part of the political resources of many ordinary people. (Marsh 1990, p. xv) This is a study of imconventional forms of political participation in new democracies - Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea. One important objective of this research will be to investigate the sources of unconventional forms of political participation. Specifically, this study tests four plausible approaches/models concerning the sources of unconventional forms of political participation, that have been developed in the Western democracies: Dissatisfaction, Cognitive Skills (or Resource Mobilization), Value Change, and Baseline approaches. In this way, it will be possible to define which approach is more applicable in one country as well as in the new democracies. In addition, this study investigates the role of each approach in protest action at different stages of democratization: pre-democratic fransition and post-democratic transition. Through a cross-temporal comparison of these two critical periods, we are able to analyze which approach is a crucial factor in determining protest action in the new democracies. The notion of political participation is at the center of the concept of the democratic country because democracy refers to rule by the people. Because social goals in a democracy should be "defined and carried out through discussion, popular interest, and involvement in politics," democracy requires "an active citizemy" (Dahon 2000, p. 927). Democracy should be a celebration of an involved public. Public participation. sometimes, "bursts beyond the bounds of conventional politics to include demonstrations, protests, and other forms of unconventional activity" (Dalton 1988, p. 67). Therefore, we have two kinds of political participation: conventional and unconventional forms. Unconventional forms of political participation (peaceful political protest) usually exclude violent forms of protest such as sabotage, guerrilla warfare,
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