Nationalism,Confucianism, work ethic and industrialization in South Korea

The “economic miracle” of South Korea has been well documented by many scholars, but most studies have focused on the cooperative relations between the state and entrepreneurial elites, with little attention being given to the accomplishments and contribution of Korean labor to industrial development. To date there has been no comprehensive sociological study as to how workers in South Korea were “ideologically” mobilized and motivated to commit their labor power to the process of industrialization. In an attempt to redress this imbalance, this article offers an analysis of the role of Confucianism and nationalism in the state-sponsored ideology of work in South Korea during its economic boom of the 1960s and 1970s. It is argued here that both the workers' voluntary participation in industrial work and the harmony in the workplace, which were two of the most essential factors in the nation's remarkable economic success during the 1960s and 1970s, were intimately linked to a new ideology of work and entrepreneurship which combined nationalism and pro-growth Confucian precepts. The article will thus sociologically examine ways in which ideas about work in South Korea have incorporated nationalist ideals and Confucianism, and analyze the relevance of this ideology of work to the nation's phenomenal economic growth.     

Sino-Mongolian relations and Mongolia's non-traditional security

The following article examines the effect China has on Mongolia's non-traditional security. Using the Copenhagen School's approach to non-traditional security, the article argues that Mongolia's economic dependence on China coupled with weak political security have allowed China to develop structural power over Mongolia's domestic institutions. This structural power also negatively affects Mongolia's societal and environmental security. Chinese structural power, therefore, has a net negative effect on Mongolia's domestic non-traditional security, despite Chinese policies that seek to maintain good relations with Mongolia. This suggests that China is not in complete control of its relations with Mongolia and that its use of economic ties to drive relations with Mongolia contains elements that ultimately undermine its position and Mongolia's security.     

Recent GNP and Productivity Trends

Two CIA economists present and analyze data on trends in Soviet GNP and productivity from 1960 through 1990. The developments in the 1980s are suitably emphasized and compared with those in the United States. The authors' study and calculations embrace labor and capital inputs as well as total factor productivity. Because measures such as weights to combine labor and capital inputs in the Soviet economy are difficult to derive, the method and findings are discussed in considerable detail. Most estimates are calculated for the business, industrial, agricultural, and nonfarm business sectors. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P27, 040, 052.     

Religion and Foreign Policy Making in the USA,India and Iran: towards a research agenda

This article is concerned with religious soft power in foreign policy making through a focus on the foreign policies of the USA, India and Iran. It suggests that, if religious actors ‘get the ear’ of key foreign policy makers because of their shared religious beliefs, the former may become able to influence foreign policy outcomes through the exercise of religious soft power. In relation to the above-mentioned countries, the article proposes that several named religious actors do significantly influence foreign policy through such a strategy. It also notes that such influence is apparent not only when key policy makers share religious values, norms and beliefs but also when policy makers accept that foreign policy should be informed by them.     

Pitying the Third World: towards more progressive emotional responses to development education in schools

The development sector appeals to emotions in its marketing and education material to raise awareness and funds for its work. Much of this material is now directed at schools, where young people form long-lasting opinions about development and the developing world. This paper draws upon research with 118 students in five New Zealand/Aotearoa secondary schools to show that young people are not passive receptors of development marketing and education. Instead, they question the activities of international ngos involved in aid work and how they are meant to feel or act in response. We examine these emotional responses of young people and the demoralising feelings of guilt, sadness and scepticism that arise, often alongside an innocent paternalism and a desire to help. We outline possibilities for more socially progressive forms of development education, based on the recognition that young people are questioning old ways of doing aid work and looking for something new. We challenge ngos to be part of new forms of global connectedness that disrupt old ‘us and them’ binaries based on difference, and instead to pursue new linkages based on shared feelings of empathy, friendship and social justice.     

Book reviews

Transnational Citizenship: Membership and Rights in International Migration by Rainer Bauböck. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1994. Pp. x + 348; references, index. £39.95. ISBN 1 85278 942 5

Postmetaphysical Thinking (translated from Nachmetaphysiche Denken: Philosophische Aufsatze by M.W. Hohengarten) by J. Habermas. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992; Oxford: Polity Press (paperback), 1995. Pp.xx + 241. £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 7456 0734 9 and 1412 4

Economic Democracy: The Politics of Feasible Socialism by Robin Archer. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. Pp. xii + 264. £30 (hardback). ISBN 0 19 827 891 8

Global Society and International Relations: Sociological Concepts and Political Perspectives by Martin Shaw. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995. Pp.197: index. £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 7456 1212 1

Great Revolutions Compared: The Outline of a Theory by Jaroslav Krej?í. London and New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1994. Pp. x + 302. £13.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 7450 1408 9

From Chaos to Order: The Politics of Constitution‐Making in Uganda edited by Holger Bernt Hansen and Michael Twaddle. Kampala: Fountain Publishers and London: James Currey, 1995. Pp.194; index. £9.95 (paperback). ISBN 9970 02 044 7 (Fountain); 0 85255 393 5 (James Currey)

Political Parties and the State: The American Historical Experience by Martin Shefter. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994. Pp. xiii + 292; index. £40 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 691 03284 X and 00041 1