Does economy matters? : government interests, civil society pressure and environmental protection in Costa Rica and South Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The present work attempts a comparative political study among the influences of environmental laws application present in two different countries located in diverse regions (Central America and East Asia). It provides case studies based on the experiences of Costa Rica and South Korea use of these laws and tries to exemplify how through democratic, developmental and social relationships theories the environment also becomes an important part of our life. It presents the question of how important is each country’s level of economic development for the task of environmental protection and offers other explanations related to government interests and civil society to explain this relationship and this work’s findings. The comparison of the two countries democratic system, developmental state and civil relations, along with the study of the environmental laws can serve as a learn glass to understand the advantages and challenges that these two regions face, to observe what is being done and which methods are used, to provide a clearer picture of both environmental problems and possible solutions. A comparative essay allows for a clearer understanding of the policies and needs of both countries.

Keywords: economy, government, civil society, environmental protection laws, comparative studies, Costa Rica, South Korea.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Table of Contents
• 1 Introduction 9
• 1.1 Context on environmental change 9
• 1.2 Justification 11
• 1.3 Problem Statement 13
• 1.4 Hypothesis 15
• 2 Theoretical Framework and Literature Review 18
• 2.1 Economic Development and Environmental Politics 18
• 2.2 Environmental law 23
• 2.3 Comparative studies and environmental politics in political science 24
• 3 Costa Rica 30
• 3.1 The Costa Rican Case 31
• 3.1.1 Existing environmental laws 33
• 3.1.2 Case Study: Crucitas open pit mining project 38
• 4 South Korea 48
• 4.1. The South Korean Case 50
• 4.1.1. Existing environmental laws 52
• 4.1.2. Case study: Doosan phenol spill 55
• 5. Comparative study between Costa Rica and South Korea 63
• 5.1. Comparison of Costa Rica´s and South Korea´s main environmental laws and their application: strengths and weaknesses 63
• 6. Conclusion 71
• 6.1. State of the situation, lessons learned and policy recommendations 71
• 6.2. Future Implications for the two countries and their regions 75
• 7. References 77
• 8. Annexes 85