Authoritarian Successor Parties, Supporters, and Protest: Lessons from Asian Democracies

Abstract

Are authoritarian successor party (ASP) supporters more likely to protest? I propose that ASP supporters are less likely to protest in general. The post-democratization mobilization environment is shaped upon the pre-democratization mobilization basis. During the pre-democratization period, protest was organized around the democracy movement. Thus, protest tactics and networks were accumulated through it. As former authoritarian ruling party supporters, ASP supporters are less likely to have legacies of participating in the democracy movement, which prevents them from accessing the accumulated protest resources from the democracy movement. However, I argue that this negative association varies based on the ASP qualities and supporters’ age. Supporters of ASPs that maintain strong pre-democratization legacies are more likely to participate in protests than supporters of ASPs that do not strongly highlight their authoritarian legacies. Also, when the ASPs’ characteristics are considered, older ASP supporters are more likely to participate in protests than younger supporters. Using both single-level and multilevel statistical analyses, I examine four Asian countries with politically powerful ASPs and find evidence supporting my hypotheses. Lastly, I compare two South Korean mass movements, the Candlelight movement and the Taegeukgi rallies to unpack the relationships between ASP supporters, protest resources, and mobilization. This study reveals authoritarian legacies among post-democratization citizens through ASP supporters’ protesting behavior.

Analyzing “Jayu” in South Korean presidential rhetoric: a comprehensive study from 1948–2023 with a focus on the Yoon Suk Yeol administration

“…The New Right's interpretation of liberalism, influenced by global neoliberal movements, amalgamated market-oriented and pro-business ideologies with traditional anti-communist sentiments, leading to a nuanced understanding of liberal democracy that favored corporate and growth-centric principles. This ideological evolution influenced public party preferences and legislative activities, establishing the conservative party as a custodian of Jayu, reflective of a historical continuum from authoritarian regimes to contemporary conservative politics (Lee and You, 2019;Lee et al, 2018;Hong et al, 2023;Lee, 2023;Kim and Lee, 2023).…”