ABSTRACT

A public struggle in South Korea around prosecution reform brings into focus a deeper battle between forces seeking to make the state more responsive to ordinary people and those aiming to preserve the status quo. Opponents of prosecution reform turned to a mode of politics that appropriated the styles and symbols of democracy to justify the obstruction of reforms that would break down a key authoritarian legacy and source of entrenched privilege. They deployed multiple methods of “faking” democracy: assuming the mantle of anti-corruption champions, drawing on tropes from the anti-authoritarian opposition of the past, and normalizing marginal views. The politics of prosecution reform illuminates the mass struggle that defines South Korea’s democracy and also points to a dangerous and subtle mode of politics that is increasingly visible around the world yet under-appreciated in most approaches to thinking about democracy.

摘要

在韩国，围绕起诉改革的一场公开斗争使寻求使国家对普通民众做出更大反应的势力与旨在维持现状的势力之间进行了更深入的斗争。起诉改革的反对者转向了一种政治模式，该模式采用了民主的风格和符号来为阻碍改革的理由辩护，因为这些改革会破坏关键的威权主义遗产和根深蒂固的特权。他们采用了多种“伪造”民主的方法：承担反腐败拥护者的幌子，借鉴过去反威权主义反对派的比喻，并规范边际观点。