This thesis starts from the needs of an alternative public conflict management mechanism because a public conflict management mechanism does not handle heavily increasing public conflicts efficiently in Korea even though it is fervently needed.
If the...
This thesis starts from the needs of an alternative public conflict management mechanism because a public conflict management mechanism does not handle heavily increasing public conflicts efficiently in Korea even though it is fervently needed.
If the government has not managed public conflicts successfully, then it is a kind of a government failure and if raising civil society and the extension of CSO's roles results from 'government's failure', then public conflict management by CSO can be considered as the third alternative to the government failure. In addition, many Korean people expect the role of CSO's public conflict management. However, empirical evidences about the effectiveness of CSO's public conflict management mechanism are mixed because CSO's interventions in a public conflict have resulted in either a conflict's escalation or de-escalation.
The question on what brings about the difference has become the research question of the thesis. The research, through in-depth literature review, has theoretically inferred that the difference of CSO's social capital forms would give a heavy influence on the competence of CSO's public conflicts management mechanism. That is, whether group-level social capital form of CSO is bridging or bonding is an important factor to decide the effectiveness of CSO's public conflict management mechanism. Therefore, the thesis develops such research proposition as follows.
〈Proposition 1〉If CSO having bridging social capital intervene in a public conflict, then the conflict would be de-escalated or solved.
〈Proposition 2〉If CSO having bonding social capital intervene in a public conflict, then the conflict would be escalated or entrapped.
To verify the research propositions, comparative case studies analyzing and comparing the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice(CCEJ)'s intervention case of "Milyang-Si power cable conflict" and the Korean Alliance of Progressive Movement(KAPM)'s intervention of "Ssangyong Motor conflict" has been conducted. Analysis methods comprehend both qualitative analysis on the basis of social capital theory and quantitative analysis on the basis of conflict process analysis.
First, in detail, qualitative analysis on the basis of social capital theory has been conducted by in-depth observation of both CSO's attitudes and behaviors after their interventions in the conflict cases, which is a process of group-level social capital's spillover and CSO's promoting process of social capital during the public conflict process. Second, quantitative analysis on the basis of conflict process analysis analyzing the change of conflict severity index has been conducted.
Both of the analysis results explain the fact that CCEJ's social capital form is a kind of bridging social capital and KAPM's social capital form is a kind of bonding social capital, and the fact that CCEJ's intervention in the public conflict contributes the conflict's de-escalation but KAPM's intervention in the public conflict results in the escalation and entrapment of the conflict. Therefore, one can answer the research questions which raised in the beginning of the thesis as follows.
First research question is "if the interventions of CCEJ and KAPM produced different impacts on the public conflicts, then what is the reason?" Analysis results reveal the facts that CCEJ's intervention in the conflict de-escalates the conflict but KAPM's intervention in the conflict escalates and entraps the conflict. And, the factor that cause the difference is revealed as the different forms of CSO's social capital forms. That is, CCEJ's social capital is bridging social capital and KAPM's social capital is bonding social capital. Bridging social capital characterized as open networks and generalized reciprocity and trust bridges the groups of different socio-economic background and ideology, which de-escalate and solve a conflict. Bonding social capital characterized as close networks and particularized trust and reciprocity, however, strengthens the in-group bonds but exclusive and hostile attitudes against other groups in a wider society which results in conflict escalation.
The second research question is "how are CCEJ's bridging social capital and KAPM's bonding social capital revealed and proliferated?" Analysis results reveal the facts that two CSO has different forms of social networks, which results in different kinds of trust and reciprocity. Two CSO's trust and reciprocity, that is, has been proliferated differently against different contexts of social networks. In the concrete ways, CCEJ's bridging social capital develops open social networks embracing both Milyang-Si residents and Korea Electronic Power Corporation(KEPCO)'s members, which results in generalized trust and reciprocity including stakeholder having antagonistic relationship. On the other hand, KAPM's bonding social capital develops close social networks only with Ssangyong Motor labor union and progressive groups, which results in particularized trust and reciprocity within the narrow scope of progressive groups and the union.
The third research question is "What kinds of social capital form should CSOs accumulate to function effectively as an alternative public conflict management mechanism and how should the government endeavor to support CSO's formating such forms of social capital. Analysis result reveals that the form of social capital needed for CSO to function efficiently as an alternative public conflict management mechanism is 'bridging social capital'. And, the government need to endeavor in two tracks of short-term and long-term strategy.
As a long-term strategy, the government should build up the basic foundation which enables CSOs to develop bridging social capital. Such long-term strategies include developing democracy, enhancing the quality of national jurisdiction agencies and fulfill a welfare state. As a short-term strategy, the government should persuade more CSOs to develop bridging social capital and devise polices to exploit CSOs of bridging social capital as an alternative public conflict management mechanism. In detail, the government should offer enough opportunity of social interchange with groups having different socio-economic and ideological background, which promote the accumulation of bridging social capital.
In addition, it is revealed that the CSO having bridging social capital could not function effectively as an alternative public conflict management mechanism without legal and institutional authority in the case of Milyang power cable conflict. That is, the fact that CCEJ's bridging social capital de-escalated the conflict but prolonged the conflict reveals the limit of CSO's conflict resolving capability. Therefore, to utilize the CSO of bridging social capital form as an alternative public conflict management mechanism fully, the policy to provide legal authority needs to be considered on the basis of stakeholder's consensus.
This thesis is expected to contribute theoretically as follows.
First, This research expands the scope of social capital theory and strengthens its explanation power by verifying the research proposition through a comparative case research. In detail, the research reveals meso-level utility of social capital to accelerate cooperation between various groups and resolve social conflicts. it also strengthen the social capital theory by linking between micro, meso, and macro-level social capital through adding analysis of group-level social capital.
Second, this research develops typical Korean-style conflict process pattern through literature review and discussions between field specialists and scholars. it is a kind of quantified theoretical tool to analyze public conflict progress pattern by the index of conflict intensity which is expected to be used by follow researches.
Third, this research works out new method to measure group-level social capital forms. Preceeding researches have used to measure social capital forms by proxy measures such as an association’s goal and activity, heterogeneity of members’ socio-economic background or degree of out-group interconnection. This research tries new method to measure an association’s social capital form as an attempt to overcome the preceeding researches’ limitations. That is, it measures an association’s social capital form by qualitative analyses of an association’s behaviors and attitudes observed during the public conflict process.
Keyword: social capital, public conflict, civil society organization