Nation Building: A simple 52-Year Program

[Zeno]

In the recent issue of Wilson Quarterly (winter 2004) is a very interesting article called "How to Build a Nation' by David Ekbladh. Unfortunately, you cannot link to the article (unless you wish to subscribe etc). But in general, the article describes the US involvement in helping to create a modern democracy in South Korea. This was a convoluted, messy, time-consuming task that showed some of the best, and the worst, sides of the US, in addition to no small amount of resourcefulness from the South Koreans. The article is worth a read if you have access to this Magazine.

Below are two “concluding” excerpts from the article:

"The Republic of Korea today displays all the trappings of a member in good standing of the exclusive club of highly industrialized, affluent democracies. Seoul, a shattered city of 900,000 in the aftermath of the Korean War, is now a world-class metropolis of more than 10 million. South Korean steel, automobiles, and electronics flood the world's marketplaces. The role of the United States in this story was not always something to be proud of. Nonetheless, Americans should take some genuine satisfaction in having helped create a modern South Korea.……………

"Virtually nobody foresaw the scale of commitment that would be necessary to create a model nation-state in South Korea. Americans assumed that their know-how would rapidly bring change. But the easy assumption of a half-century ago yielded to a painful reality. American aid was part of a complex mixture of contingent factors - including the extraordinary perseverance and initiative of the South Korean people - that led to the elusive goals of prosperity and freedom only after immense and protracted effort."

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I think this is something to keep in mind in this all-too intanteous world of pop-up ads and immediate gratification of every whim. Patience is something that is needed – even if it comes at a price, as it certainly will.

The official war in Iraq ended about 8 months ago. The real war is just beginning. And it will take time, and more time, and more time to see where this will all lead – I will certainly be dead before any real objective analysis about this whole endeavor can be scrutinized by disinterested parties, and reasonable conclusions put forth as to the intelligence or folly of our actions.

-Zeno

[sam h]

are that the biggest developmental successes of the post-WWII period, South Korea and Taiwan, did not go democratic until relatively recently (after the key spurt of sustained economic growth) and did not get there with the kind of laissez-faire development strategy that is basically forced on states now. There may be more than one way to skin a cat, but the biggest successes seem to have been authoritarian regimes that actively intervened to foster export-led market economies (of course, plenty of states with this strategy failed miserably as well, at immense cost to their populations). And if you look at who's doing best now, countries following similar formulas - Malaysia, China, Vietnam - pop out, not those that have gone democratic and have scaled back the state like most Latin American nations.

As a staunch supporter of democracy, I find this pretty troubling.

Nice post Zeno.

[Zeno]

Thanks.

Yes, it took sometime before South Korea or Taiwan developed into viable democracies. Taiwan was more or less a police state/military dictoraship for some years and S. Korea had similar problems but they were eventually overcome. As to the autocratic natural of many of the up and coming Asian countries this is somewhat true but I think that over time the same pattern may emerge and development toward a more open and free democratic society and system will take place. Cultural make up and differences in history and background, I think, explain some of this pattern or tendencies in Asian countries that we personally find troubling.

There is a whole plethora of reason why these tendencies exist but part of the reason is the deep undercurrent of Confucianism that flows through much of Asia. At least that is my opinion. The old East meets West theme explores a multitude of other possible reasons also. Books unnumbered have no doubt explored this subject.

Cross-cultural inferences are plagued with danger but I certainly hope at least some countries in the Middle East (and the former Soviet Union) can eventually cast off the theocracies and/or autocratic rulers and practices that pervade the region and stear themselves to more democratic institutions. Whether military force is necessary or needed to foster this change is the experiment that we are now undertaking. The results will be interesting – whatever the outcome.

-Zeno