Regionalism and Political Institutions in South Korea : Towards democratic consolidation

Abstract: This thesis aims to examine how regionalism affects the performance of South Korean political institutions. My argument is that different electoral climates present different incentives to political leaders and that these incentives affect their regime performance, contributing to the formation of a specific political culture, more or less favorable to the consolidation of democracy. The thesis analyzed the patterns of electoral politics and electoral reform and the role of regionalism in presidential and parliamentary elections. The study analyzed three presidential administrations of Kim Dae Jung, Roh Moo Hyun and Lee Myung Bak since South Korean democratic transition. Analysis cases were set to compare electoral climates, parliamentary elections and regional cleavage in the time span of the three administrations from 1997 till 2008. The result of this inquiry indicated that regionalism and political institutions of electorate and political parties evolved in a way that regime performance depends on both: regionalism and policies.