The Impact of NGOs on South Korea"s Decision to Dispatch Troops to Iraq
This study focuses on how South Korea’s internal societal pressures affected the decision making process on the agenda of troop dispatch to Iraq and how it affected the alliance relationship with the United States. Ever since South Korea has matured into a democratized, civil society, there are now numerous voices on almost every issue, including the US-ROK alliance, which had previously been immune from any heated public debate. Since the early days of the previous administration, however, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have emerged as a powerful player even in the realm of foreign and security policy decision-making which had remained hidden from the public eye. It is important to pay particular attention to the activities by the Citizen’s Action against Deployment to Iraq, a coalition group of 351 NGOs established for the specific goal of influencing the government. This coalition group employed at least 17 different strategies to mobilize public support for their cause. This study ends with the conclusion that the Blue House which was wary of losing the progressives’ votes in the then-upcoming elections, missed a window of golden opportunity by refusing to cooperate with the U.S. forces in Iraq. It could have increased Roh Moo-hyun government’s bargaining power, reformulated the missions of the Korean forces and enhanced its capabilities. It is unfortunate that the US-South Korean alliance has not experienced any notable improvement despite Seoul’s dispatch of an additional 3,000-men troop to Iraq. The US-ROK alliance relationship could further deteriorate because now NGO leaders aim to make the transfer of US bases to Osan-Pyongtaek area impossible. It is high time for policymakers of the two countries and others who are concerned to maintain a high watch over the NGO’s strategies and their way of using governmental subsidies to prevent further damage to the alliance.
The Place of Desecuritization in the Relations between South Korea andthe Islamic World
Objective: South Korea’s relations with the countries of the Muslim world can be seen as having mutual and common interests for both sides. Relationships that are remarkable in the context of relations between a middle power and a great civilization, but in many cases have been challenged due to the considerations of great powers, especially the securitization of issues in the Islamic world. Accordingly, the main question of the paper is that, how do the securitization issue has affected South Korea’s relations with the Islamic world? And also how successful have been the efforts to desecuritize these relations? Methods: The research method is descriptive-analytic and documentary and reliable internet based sources have been used to collect the information. Results: The findings of the study indicate that although South Korea’s relations with Islamic countries have been under the influence of great powers – especially the United Statesin numerous cases, both sides have tried, along with maintaining their strategic ties with the great powers, to facilitate the desecuritization of their relations by efforts such as developing public-cultural diplomacy, strengthening economic ties and interdependencies, and also adopting an impartiality or non-interference approach in each other’s affairs and crisis. Conclusions: Islamic countries and South Korea have tried to enhance their relations in different aspects including cultural exchange, economic cooperation and nonintervene approach toward each other that has contributed to the enhancement of their relations and also affected the securitized nature of their relations.
Global Occupational Health Issues
1. Occupational health problems in developing countries are more widespread and serious because they occur against a background of endemic risk factors for ill health. 2. In general, developing countries have less adequately developed occupational health personnel and programs and less adequately developed and enforced laws and regulations than developed countries. 3. Awareness of the importance of occupational health among workers, management, government officials, and the public is increasing with developing countries. 4. Occupational health professionals in developed countries can contribute in many ways to improving occupational health in developing countries.