The Korean party system after democratization, how will it be viewed? Evaluation of the level of institutionalization of the party system from the perspective of electoral volatility (2021.12)
- Author : Hyun Jae Ho
- Publication : Korean Political Science Review
- Publisher : The Korean Political Science Association
- Volume : 55(5)
- Date : December, 2021
Abstract: This paper aims to analyze the phenomenon of the splits and mergers between parties in Korean party politics after democratization through the ‘revised’ Pedersen index and evaluate the level of institutionalization. Two electoral volatility indices were used. One is extra-system/ within-system volatility resulting from entry and exit between parties, and the other is block/within-block volatility resulting from progress-conservative (or left-right) contexts. The analysis results are as follows. On the one hand, the high index of total electoral volatility is largely due to an increase in extra-system volatility rather than within-system volatility, and an increase in within-block volatility rather than block volatility. On the other hand, the proportion of within-system volatility and bloc volatility also appears to gradually increase. However, in either case, the implication of the electoral volatility index is the continuation of instability resulting from the low level of institutionalization of the party system. It means that even though a generation has passed since democratization, the social base of the party system and the linkage between parties and voters are still weak. According to Sartori’s expression, it represents the absence of a mass party that can strongly cohere the party system. This i s why the Korean p arty system is defined a s an ‘ inchoate p arty system’.