Politics and Society

COVID-19 has forced Korean society to rapidly digitalize. Though most South Koreans have access to the internet and digital technologies, some are less able to make use of these tools. Women and low-income families are most vulnerable to this digital inequality. The South Korean government should take steps to address such digital inequality, beyond the issue of digital access.

Advocacy NGOs often face challenges from political actors questioning their legitimacy. A new approach of introducing electorates nationally or regionally to grassroots organizations might protect them against such political attacks, and also serve to increase their legitimacy. The Hungarian Independent Student Parliament provides a potential model that could be replicated in other similar NGOs in and beyond Hungary.

The French Yellow Vest Movement highlighted two major determinants of success in protest movements: favorable public opinion and high collective morale. It also showed that the French government needs to refocus its protest mitigation strategy more on these two fronts in order to minimize and avoid future protest movements.

From Mahatma Gandhi to Susan B. Anthony and Extinction Rebellion – civil disobedience has changed policies throughout history. John Rawls developed means to better understand when and in what form civil disobedience is justified. We see that XR isn’t a movement of the disenfranchised and needs to introduce climate councils at all levels to produce more inclusive outcomes.

Uprisings spread worldwide in 2019, using similar triggers and tactics. Some changes have been accomplished, from politicians’ resignations to derogation of laws and reforms. Social awakening can be considered the biggest revolutionary shift, leading to an unprecedented collective consciousness across countries. Governments should address this emergence by institutionalising civil society initiatives.

Technological progress as it stands today focuses on irrelevant questions and ignores possible dangers, instead of leveraging democratization and social mobility. Three policy shifts are necessary to stop wasting the potential of technological progress.