Uneven Development, Inter‐scalar Tensions, and the Politics of Decentralization in South Korea

Bae‐gyoon Park

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2008, vol. 32, issue 1, 40-59

Abstract: Abstract In this article, I examine how the spatiality of the state and its associated territorial politics can have an impact on the spatial and scalar restructuring of the state. Building on recent theoretical developments on state space, this article examines how territorial politics can be organized under the particular spatiality of the state, and how that particular form of territorial politics can have an impact on the future restructuring of state spatiality. In particular, by focusing on the spatial processes of state restructuring in South Korea, I will attempt to conceptualize the ways in which the spatiality of top‐down regulatory processes led by the state can generate inter‐scalar tensions between the national and the local; this, in turn, results in the downward rescaling of the state. More specifically, the empirical focus is on how the processes of decentralization in South Korea have been shaped by the influences of various kinds of territorial politics (for example, inter‐scalar tensions between the national and the local, territorialized party politics, etc.) that occur within the context of uneven regional development stemming from the spatial selectivity of state regulation. Résumé Cet article examine comment la dimension spatiale de l'Etat et les politiques territoriales afférentes peuvent affecter la restructuration de l'Etat en termes d'espace et d'échelle. A partir de théories récentes sur l'espace de l'Etat, est examinée la manière dont les politiques territoriales peuvent être organisées compte tenu de la spatialité spécifique de l'Etat,et dont cette forme spécifique de politique territoriale peut agir sur la restructuration future de la spatialité de l'Etat. En s'intéressant aux processus spatiaux de restructuration de l'État en Corée du Sud, ce travail tente de concevoir comment la dimension spatiale des processus réglementaires verticaux menés par l'Etat peut générer des tensions entre les échelons national et local, ce qui entraîne une réduction d'échelle de l'Etat. Plus précisément, l'intérêt empirique porte sur la façon dont les processus de décentralisation sud‐coréens ont subi l'influence de diverses sortes de politiques territoriales (comme les tensions entre échelons national et local, les politiques de parti territorialisées, etc.) existant dans le cadre d'un développement régional inégal issu de la sélectivité spatiale de la réglementation étatique.

Date: 2008
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