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Political Change and National Identification in South Korea and Beyond

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Political Change and National Identification in South Korea and Beyond Does Democracy Matter? Political Change and National Identification in South Korea and Beyond by Steven Charles Denney A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Steven Charles Denney 2019 Does Democracy Matter? Political Change and National Identification in South Korea and Beyond Steven Denney Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto 2019 Abstract What is the relationship between political system type and preferences for national membership and belonging? Existing research suggests that preferences and institutions align. Cross-national work indicates that citizens in countries with consolidated democratic institutions have national identities that are more open and inclusive, whereas those in countries with weak democratic or authoritarian institutions tend to have more closed and exclusive national identities. But what about citizens in new(er) democracies? Do identities forged under autocratic regimes change, or are they resilient over time? Using pooled cross-sectional data on South Korean national identity between 2003 and 2015, this thesis considers whether people who were socialized under authoritarian political conditions have national identities different from those who came of age under democracy. Further, using newly collected survey and interview data, this thesis also leverages a natural experiment in institutional change to isolate the effects of both “growing up autocratic” and exposure to democratic institutions by comparing responses from native South Koreans with that of resettled North Korean migrants. The research presented here confirms the ii association between system type and national identity; democrats have more pluralistic and voluntarist conceptions of national membership and autocrats hold higher barriers to belonging and have more ascriptive national identities. The thesis further indicates the type of political system in which citizens are socialized determines, at least in part, their national identity. Overall, the research findings presented in this thesis make three contributions. First, it adds further evidence to existing bodies of literature which hold that institutions and individual preferences tend to align. Second, it also confirms findings from existing literature on political socialization, showing that formative years’ experiences generate attitudes that endure over the life-cycle. Third, it adds new insight and understanding of changes in South Korean national identity across generations. iii Acknowledgments Academic work is necessarily the product of collaboration. This dissertation is not an exception. As such, I would like to acknowledge those who generously provided their time and expertise to this project. First, my dissertation committee – Professors Joseph Wong (supervisor), Neil Nevitte, Andre Schmid, Edward Schatz (internal reader), and Katharine Moon (external reader) – was exceptionally supportive and always helpful. The dissertation never would have happened without their initial input and continued support, not just with the dissertation itself but with PhD life in general. My close friends and research collaborators, Drs. Christopher Green and Adam Cathcart, provided support as sounding boards for my early ideas and later analysis. Many others provided crucial input at different stages of the project. Professors Michael Donnelly and Yoongkyung Lee gave initial feedback in the early analysis stages for which I am thankful. I am especially indebted to Heo Yong-rim, Lee Seo-hyun, and Brian Gleason for assistance in recruiting North Korean migrant participants during my fieldwork in South Korea, 2016. Bae Jin-su also assisted with recruitment and served as primary interviewer, with interview assistance provided by Choi Hyun-sook and Jin Yong-bak (“Jimbo”). Jin Se-wook helped edit and improve the Korean-language questionnaires. At home, Julia Jihae Chun helped locate and collect South Korean survey data in her role as Director of the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, at the University of Toronto. Last but certainly not least, there is my family. To my mother (Jeannie), father (Keith), and younger brother (Chad): thank you for your unconditional love and support. And to my partner and biggest champion, Jin (Jamie) Seongbak. She deserves more credit than I can articulate here. Without her continued support, both emotional and intellectual, I would not have iv completed this project. I am a better person all-around because of her, and it is to her I dedicate this dissertation. v Table of Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... IV LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................................ VIII LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. X LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................................... XII CHAPTER 1: PROJECT INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 2 THEORY OVERVIEW: NATIONALISM AND NATIONAL IDENTITY ................................................... 2 2.1 National Identity Types and Political Institutions .................................................................... 6 2.2 Political Socialization and the Study of Identity Change ........................................................ 10 3 CONCLUSION: PROJECT ROAD MAP ........................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2: FROM “ONE RACE” TO MULTICULTURAL? AN OVERVIEW OF SOUTH KOREAN NATIONAL IDENTITY ................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................ 28 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 28 2 DATA SOURCES ......................................................................................................................... 28 3 MEASURING NATIONAL IDENTITY ............................................................................................. 31 4 MEASURING POLITICAL GENERATIONS AND COHORTS .............................................................. 32 5 DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION ....................................................................................... 35 6 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 36 CHAPTER 4: DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT AND GENERATIONAL CHANGE IN SOUTH KOREA: IS THERE A DEMOCRATIC GENERATION? ............................................................... 37 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 37 2 DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN A THIRD WAVE DEMOCRACY ............................................... 40 3 POLITICAL GENERATIONS, SOCIALIZATION, AND DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT .................................. 42 4 METHODS, VARIABLES & DATA ................................................................................................ 44 4.1 Political generations ............................................................................................................. 44 4.2 Regime Legitimacy and Political Values ............................................................................... 45 4.3 Regression Analysis .............................................................................................................. 53 5 CONCLUSIONS AND TRANSITION ............................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 5: NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION AFTER AUTOCRACY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SOUTH KOREAN TODAY? ................................................................................................. 59 1 INTRODUCTION: RECAP AND TRANSITION ................................................................................. 59 2 POLITICAL GENERATIONS AND NATIONAL IDENTITY ................................................................. 60 3 METHODS, VARIABLES, AND DATA ........................................................................................... 61 3.1 Measuring Political Generations .......................................................................................... 61 3.2 Measuring National Identity ................................................................................................. 62 3.3 Regression Analysis: National Identity .................................................................................. 69 vi 3.4 Measuring Attitudes Towards Immigrants ............................................................................. 71 3.5 Regression Analysis: Immigrant Attitudes ............................................................................
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