Western-Centrism and Contemporary Korean Political Thought

by Jung In Kang

Overview

It is a paradox that there are few monographs committed to examining Western-centrism in the discipline of (Western) political theory, an intellectual tradition that has long been proud of critical self-reflection. This book is an outgrowth of examining Western political theory and the ideational processes by which contemporary Korean political theory has interacted with it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739180983
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/20/2015
Pages:	354
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Kang Jung In is professor in the Department of Political Science at Sogang University.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments Notes on Names and Asian Characters Introduction: From Western-centrism to Post-western-centrism Part I: Defining Western-centrism Chapter 1. Understanding Western-centrism Chapter 2. The Historical Evolution of Western-centrism Chapter 3. Western-centrism and Sinocentrism Part II: Western-centrism in Western Political Thought Chapter 4The Origin and Evolution of Western-centrism in the History of Western Political Thought Chapter 5. Western-centrism in Locke’s Theory of Property Chapter 6. Western-centrism in Samuel P. Huntington’s Theory of Democratic Transition Part III: Contemporary Korean Political Thought Chapter 7. Pristine vs. Secondary Modernization Chapter 8. The Ideological Status of Korean Conservatism Chapter 9. The Democratization of Korea or the Korean-ization of Democracy Part IV:Beyond the Shadow of Western-centrism Chapter 10. The Negative Impact of Western-centrism in Korean Political Studies Chapter 11. Discursive Strategies for Overcoming Western-centrism Chapter 12. Beyond the Shadow of Western-centrism Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

Michel Foucault famously stated that the modern West, while priding itself of its "democracy", has failed to abandon autocracy by refusing to "cut off the king's head". This fact is patently evident in the global arena in the continued Western assertion of planetary hegemony and domination. In his book, Kang Jung In valiantly wrestles with this conundrum from a "subaltern" Korean perspective, placing his hope in the emergence of a global civil society marked by "polycentric multiculturalism". Without equating a stubborn local retreat, polycentrism in his view requires a combination of global openness and cultural resistance, more specifically a "modernization of tradition" involving "learning the new by reviewing the old". Powerfully argued, the book is a vade mecum for anyone seeking a transit from Western-centrism into a more equitable global interaction among countries and civilizations.

Fred Dallmayr

Kang Jung In's book is a courageous and tenacious attempt to measure the cost to modern Korean understandings of politics inflicted by the western provenance of most of the central categories through which its citizens now speak and think about the forms political life assumes in Korea  today. It draws on his experience of being taught by Hanna Pitkin to assess the prospects for re-centering their understanding in Korea itself

John Dunn