To save liberal democracy, save its institutions

It has been quite a week across the world. South Korea’s president placed the country under martial law but was rebuffed by parliament, which is now taking steps to impeach him. In France, the prime minister and his government received a vote of no confidence for the first time in more than 60 years. These seemingly disparate events do have a common underlying theme: a crisis of democratic institutions.

On the face of it, South Korea is an amazing success story. Its economy boomed by more than 5 percent for five consecutive decades, a record matched by only one other place on the planet: Taiwan. South Korea today is richer than Japan in terms of gross domestic product per person. And yet it has been roiled by deep polarization and vicious political battles. The backdrop for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law announcement was 2½ years of deadlock between the liberal opposition and the conservative president. The opposition accused him of using the government’s powers to attack his opponents and the media. He accused the opposition of misusing its powers by trying to impeach members of his administration. The feud will probably end with his own impeachment.

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