The communication adaptiveness and power dynamics of the state, the market, and civil society in the information age: the case of Korea

Abstract

The authority of the state and the market, the duumvirate of the industrial society, has been challenged in various ways in the current information era advanced by the rapid development of information and communication technology. By comparison, the weight of civil organizations has increased sharply, and netizens equipped with information technology have emerged as a major player in civil society. This article experientially examines the changes in power dynamics of the state, the market, and civil society in the Korean context, based on a survey of people's perception of the communication adaptiveness of these spheres, that is, their openness and exclusiveness internally and externally. The survey results suggest that the state sphere tends to be perceived as less communicative and open than the market and civil society. By contrast, civil society is perceived to be the most open and communicative sphere. This may reflect some change in power dynamics of these spheres, which can be characterized as the rise of civil society and the relative decline of the state. In terms of the power dynamics of the three spheres, the results challenge the conventional trichotomous model assuming somewhat clear boundaries between the state, the market, and civil society. Given that the findings of this article derive from the Korean situation and, thus, are valid mainly in the Korean context, this article shows an important socio-political change in the information age: that is, mutually interactive and overlapping processes among the spheres can accelerate by the rise of ‘digital citizens’ and civil society's increasing power.