| Summary: | This dissertation analyzes how South Korean domestic conflicts on democratization became internationalized in the 1970s within the framework of the global upsurge of interests in human rights. It argues that domestic disputes became part and parcel of the global politics of human rights; in this frame, a transnational coalition for social, political, and economic justice developed that challenged US Cold War security policy. The dissertation operates at two levels: it emphasizes the impact of local human rights issues for domestic and international affairs; it also highlights how human rights actions and counter-actions emerged on the international stage and assumed geopolitical significance, particularly in the context of US Cold War foreign policy. Over all, it highlights local democratic actors' constitutive roles in shaping global human rights talks and activism that involved the transnational politics of human rights in Korea.
The dissertation shows three inter-related points. First, pro-democratic actors in Korea actively mobilized the language of human rights to garner international support. To fit local needs, they also pragmatically appropriated global human rights initiatives. Despite Amnesty International's pioneering roles, local democratic actors increasingly built up substantial connections with ecumenical groups for politically-oriented and comprehensive campaigns. Second, instead of the United Nations, Washington became the epicenter for transnational contestations as both protestors and repressors utilized human rights issues to maximize their respective agenda in international politics. In parallel with the US Congress' moralist campaigns, the Nixon, Ford, and even Carter administrations deployed Kissinger's counter-mobilization mechanism. Third, the US administrations' consistent practice for the Cold War security stability seriously backfired, culminating in the tragic May 1980 massacre at Kwangju. Democratization movements began displaying strong anti-American sentiments in their proceedings.
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