The Formulation of the National Discourse in 1940-45 Vietnam

Anh, Nguye^~n The^´ SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES SEOUL NAT 2002 Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.9 No.1

The period of Japanese occupation fundamentally changed the Vietnamese political environment, by unleashing nationalist aspirations and causing an upsurge in political involvement on the part of Vietnamese throughout the country. The course of events during the years 1940-1945 affected thus a definite transformation of Vietnam's society and politics. However, whereas the national image was going through a process of crystallization, diversity of ideological complexions and lack of clear-cut ideological directions, of organized structures, of definite programs of action, and of substantial mass bases generally characterized by the different groups which became entangled in the struggle against foreign domination, contrary to the Indochina Communist Party, whose success in taking advantage of the effects of the power vacuum following Japan's capitulation on 15 August 1945 was the result of long-term revolutionary preparations involving propaganda and organizational work. Indeed, the movement leading Vietnam to independence in the so-called August Revolution followed a broadly based nationalist program, but was controlled from within by the well-organized Indochina Communist Party. In order to understand how such a program could have won wide popular support, this paper examines the different ways the national idea was formulated by the main historical actors of the 1940-45 period, opposing especially to the discourse of the old monarchical political system to the Vie^t Minh's patriotic-nationalist propaganda. From this viewpoint, a through analysis of the Declaration of Independence of 2 September 1945 would help to point out that, while implying no unity whatsoever, at least at this stage, it was in reality a profoundly Marxist-Leninist document, in spite of the use of Enlightenment ideals and 19th century nationalism and the apparent absence of the Marxist-Leninist philosophy that the Vie^t Minh subscribed to.

The Huaqiao Community in Korea : Its Rise, Demise, and Reemergence

Cheoig, Young-Rok SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES SEOUL NAT 2002 Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.9 No.1

This paper attempts describe the fall from grace and the future positive outlook of the Chinese Community (the Huaqiao)^1 in Korea. Many specialists on "Diaspora" studies seem to recognize the conditions under which the Huaqiao live in Korea as that of misery, due mostly to the oppression exerted upon it by the policies of the Korean government. Considering the existing negative stigma regarding this issue by foreign scholars, this paper tries to test whether the stigmatized argument is objectively concluded or just an unfounded prejudice. By interviewing many local Chinese in Korea and re-migrants in foreign countries, this paper claims that a combination of the transitional attitudes of the Huaqiao themselves, reinforced by suppressive governmental policies, resulted in the relatively poor economic situation of the current Chinese community in Korea. In the future, however, the role of Chinese in Korea is expected to enlarge with the in creased importance of Mainland China, even in the face of the reality where most of the Huaqiao in Korea still hold Taiwanese passports.

A Cross-National Evidence on Initial Inequality and Openness

Hwang, Jinyoung SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES SEOUL NAT 2002 Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.9 No.1

Using a cross-national evidence, this paper establishes a negative association between initial inequality, either asser or income, and trade openness. It is found that a country with a higher initial inequality (measured by land or income gini indices close to 1960) tends to have more trade protection. In other words, a country with greater asser or income inequality generally has a lower "openness measure" (complied by Sachs and Warner), smaller "shares of trade (sum of export and import) and import to GDP" and a higher "black market premium" (compiled by Levine, Loayza and Beck). The empirical results are robust to a few different econometric methods and to the inclusion of some independent variables. A possible interpretation of the observed relationship is that well-organized "special interests" groups can influence their interests in the formation of trade policy. Further, the existence and number of organized groups in an economy can be determined by the asset and/or income distributions. Therefore, the main implication of this paper is that it is possible to observe an indirect impact of inequality on economic performances, such as investment and economic growth, through openness as long as the openness is endogenous on initial inequality.

Hardware Institutions for Software Technologies : The Japanese Model of Industrial Development in the Personal Computer Industry

Kim, Sangbae SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES SEOUL NAT 2002 Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.9 No.1

This paper attempts to explain why Japan has largely failed to meet unique technological challenges in the field of computer software while it has achieved remarkable success in its technological counterpart-computer hardware. What makes this research question puzzling is the fact that Japan has employed pretty much the same industrial policies and institutions for promoting both sectors, nevertheless producing divergent results. Existing neo-institutional approaches to industrial competitiveness are inadequate for explaining this puzzle with respect to "sectoral variation" in the effectiveness of industrial policies and institutions. I suggest that the theory of "technological fitness" is more useful for helping us to understand the relevance of industrial institutions-and further institutional adjustment strategies-in relation to the underlying technological conditions of industrial sectors. In this view, Japan has largely failed in computer software because it has continued to rely on its "hardware institutions" in competing for software technologies.

Institutional Competition And External Constraints of Transformation : Institutional Transfer and Institutional Imitation in the former GDR and in Central and Eastern Europe

Seliger, Bernhard SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES SEOUL NAT 2002 Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.9 No.1

Twelve years after the change of economic and political systems in Central and Eastern Europe indicators of economic performance and insitutional development still point out that transformation is incomplete. However, the debate of transformation strategies, earlier focusing on 'shock therapy versus gradualism', changed. Recently, transformation theory focuses on factors influencing the success of transformation, including initial conditions, institutional arrangements and policy choices. In this paper, the external restrictions on institutional choice due to national(in the case of Germany) and international economic integration are analyzed. Especially the EU accession can be seen as a form of institutional commitment and restriction of institutional choice. Based on a brief outline of the theory of institutional competition, the strategies of institutional transfer in the former GDR, institutional imitation in countries aiming at EU membership and institutional innovation are discussed. While closing the 'window of opportunity' in transformation institutional transfer or imitation can considerably reduce uncertainties surrounding transformation for business and state.

Politics and Governance in Contemporary India : The Paradox of Democratic Deepening

Sharma, Shalendra D. SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES SEOUL NAT 2002 Journal of International and Area Studies Vol.9 No.1

On 15 August 1997, India celebrated fifty years as an independent nation. Except, for a brief eighteen months between 1975-1977, India has remained a democracy. What explains the resilience of democracy in India in the face of a low-income economy, widespread poverty, illiteracy and immense religious and ethnic diversity? How have democratic governance shaped political and socioeconomic change? What is the future of Indian democracy? This paper examines these intriguing questions. It argues that the "deepening of democracy" has tended to exacerbate the problems of governance. Specifically, the progressive empowerment of popular sectors has created new sets of problems. India's civil society and associational life, divided along narrow caste, ethnic, regional and religious divisions lacks "social capital" and "civicness" necessary for the articulation and aggregation of interests, effective political collaboration and good governance. Compounding these problems, the high levels of political mobilization in the absence of strong and responsive state institutions and political parties has served to fragment rather than unite society. Thus, instead of responding to the demands of an increasingly mobilized population, the country's weak and over-burdened political institutions have reinforced, if not, exacerbated socioeconomic and political cleavages. Not surprisingly, despite India's resilient democratic institutions and relatively long experience with constitutionalism, effective governance remains a major challenge. Given these challenges, what India needs is the resuscitation of its public institutions and the renegotiation of state-society relations. This paper concludes by illustrating that India's democracy is potentially self-correcting along these lines.