SDF

[Title] From politics driven by public opinion to politics built on public debate

RYU Honglim earned his PhD in political science at Rutgers University. He is currently a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University. He lectures on the history of western political thought and contemporary political philosophy and conducts research on the conditions required to live in community, including leadership and civic attitudes, as well as how to realize the common good. He has served as Dean of Student Affairs for the College of Social Sciences at Seoul National University, Editor in Chief of SNU News, Chair of the Korean Society for Political Thought, and Vice Chair of the Korean Political Science Association. His major publications include Contemporary Political Thought (2003, in Korean), Contemporary Politics and Political Thought(2005, translation), War and Justice(2009, co-translation), Political Theory of Human Rights(2010, co-authored), A History of Classical and Medieval Western Political Thought(2011, co-authored), Understanding Political Science(2019, co-authored), Contemporary Politics: Crisis and Vision(2020, co-authored), and Political Thought and Social Advancement(2021, co-authored).

With the current political process unable to meet the demands and expectations of ordinary citizens, voices that foster exclusion and tend to the extremes are gaining a stronger foothold both in politics and in civil society. The result has been the disintegration of public debate. A politics driven by public opinion and interested only in gaining votes and power, whatever the cost, has given rise to distrustful and cynical attitudes toward politics. To restore the health of Korean democracy, a paradigm shift is needed towards a politics of public debate, based on public justification and reasoning based on thorough deliberation.

Professor of Political Science, Seoul National University
Former Dean, College of Social Sciences