The “Legacy Problem” and Democratic Consolidation in South Korea and the Philippines

Bibliographic Data

ID12848043
AuthorsNae Young Lee (corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume3
Issue1
Pages43-74
Publication date2003-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of East Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1598-2408 • E-ISSN: 2234-6643
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1598240800001119
OpenAlexW2172927281
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited14

New democracies face the arduous task of determining how to deal with gross human rights violations committed during their authoritarian pasts, or the “torturer problem,” to quote Samuel P. Huntington (1991). A new democracy can enhance its legitimacy if it brings human rights violators to justice, thus demonstrating the supremacy of democratic values, including the rule of law. By ensuring that no wrongdoer will go unpunished, the democratic regime prevents the danger of a future military coup d'état and future human rights abuses. Equally critical, it strengthens the power base of democratic forces by delegitimizing or even occasioning a purge of key authoritarian leaders, who often wield influence within the institutions of power, including the military, even after democratic transition. Punishing past wrongdoings constitutes an act of preempting a democratic reversal. In this sense, the question of the past becomes a struggle over power with today's authoritarian forces and for the future of third-wave democracy

Authoritarianism · Democracy · Democratic consolidation · Democratization · Development economics · Economics · Human rights · Law and economics · Legitimacy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Rule of law · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements

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