Reubin O’D. Askew Lecture Series returns with discussion on East Asia, the United States, and the Future of Democracy

The University of West Florida Askew Lecture Series returns to the Museum of Commerce in downtown Pensacola on Thursday, April 9, with a timely discussion on “East Asia, the United States, and the Future of Democracy.” This year’s event features Dr. Erik Mobrand, professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University and a leading scholar on South Korean politics. A public reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the lecture at 6 p.m., a Q&A session at 7 p.m. and a book signing at 7:15 p.m.

Mobrand’s research focuses on South Korean politics, democratization, urban politics and resistance, authoritarian legality and international science collaboration. He is the author of “Top-Down Democracy in South Korea” and earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University. 

While popular movements in South Korea rightly grab the headlines for forcing political change and holding leaders to account, those movements are only part of the story of the construction and practice of democracy. In “Top-Down Democracy in South Korea,” Erik Mobrand documents another part: the elite-led design and management of electoral and party institutions. Even as the country left authoritarian rule behind, elites have responded to freer and fairer elections by entrenching rather than abandoning exclusionary practices and forms of party organization.

Exploring South Korea’s political development from 1945 through the end of dictatorship in the 1980s and into the twenty-first century, Mobrand challenges the view that the origins of the post-authoritarian political system lie in a series of popular movements that eventually undid repression. He argues that we should think about democratization not as the establishment of an entirely new system, but as the subtle blending of new formal rules with earlier authority structures, political institutions and legitimizing norms.

“Amid a global third wave of autocratization, questions about the future of democracy have taken on new urgency,” said Dr. Elvis Kim, assistant professor of comparative politics in the Reubin O’D. Askew Department of Government. “This year’s Askew lecture will examine how developments in East Asia shape our understanding of both the resilience and the vulnerabilities of democracy in a rapidly changing world.”

The Askew Lecture Series is a downtown community talk on current political issues and public policy topics named in honor of the late Florida Governor, Reubin O’D. Askew, the department’s namesake. Governor Askew was a champion of civic engagement known for tackling vital public policy issues of the day.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit uwf.edu/askew or contact govt@uwf.edu.