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A Study on Change of Nuclear Power Policy in Korea: Focusing on historical institutionalism

  • Korean Society and Public Administration
  • Abbr : KSPA
  • 2011, 22(3), pp.153-182
  • Publisher : Seoul Association For Public Administration
  • Research Area : Social Science > Public Administration

주성돈 1

1가톨릭대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This research analyzes how nuclear power policies have been changed and institutionalized on the basis of the historical institutionalist approach, starting from 1958 when the law relating to nuclear power was initially enacted under the first presidential administration, through to the incumbent president Lee Myung-bak. This dissertation reexamines policy change (institutional change and persistence) from the integrated perspective of exogenous variables, structurally defined institutional contexts, and actor variables, in order to overcome fundamental problems surrounding historial institutionalism, not only based upon punctuated equilibrium, heavily determined by exogenous variables, but also confounded by abrupt and crucial changes which burst out in the process of incremental change. The main traits of nuclear power policies demonstrate that such policies can continue to change or be maintained at their current levels, under the influence of path-dependent institutional systems. At times, if such policies lead to a change in institutional terms, due to exogenous factors, they can remain in a severed balance state. However, nuclear power policies have taken increasingly changing forms through close interaction between many actors engaged in the policy process. At the same time, the path-dependency trait means that the patterns of existing actors have been maintained. Despite involving exogenous factors, nuclear power policies have gradually abandoned and filtered policy paradigm, policy decision structures and legal norms on nuclear power within a major framework.

Citation status

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