Generational Dynamics and the Politics of German and Korean Unification

Abstract

Korea with special attention to the generational differences in public attitudes as a key element in the dynamic between governing elites and public attitudes on unification policy. The basis for concentrating on political generations comes largely from the theoretical works of Mannheim (1952), Ryder (1965), Rintala (1968), and Lambert (1972). Generational theorists have argued that basic political values or orientations, once formed in early adulthood in response to major historical experiences, normally remain an enduring part of a generational outlook. Generational theorists have also shared the view that generational factors become most salient when society changes rapidly and various cohorts come of age under divergent conditions, clearly applicable to both West Germany and South Korea. We expect therefore that political generation should be an important variable in both cases, providing: (1) important evidence on the relationship between public attitudes and government policies on unification; and (2) hindsight on the relative ease of German unification and insight on issues of a future Korean unification.