Taylor DeHart

Political Science 150

Blog #8

Defining Korean Political Violence

                Political violence is defined as “the use of force by states or non-state actors to achieve political goals” (Samuels, 258).  Nearly every time we turn on the news we can see some type of political violence.  Different types of political violence are manifest in suicide attacks, civil wars, revolutionary wars, and attempts to eliminate whole groups of people otherwise known as genocide.  Finding ways to categorize political violence has always been a difficult task.  Different situations produce different results, and therefore it is important to define what situations produce a certain outcome.  An example of political violence is the war that took place between North and South Korea which caused the split of the continental peninsula had strong political causation.  The war spanned three years and cost many lives.  According to the textbook a war of this sort would be categorized as interstate warfare.  Interstate warfare is defined as “the use of violence by states against other states to achieve political goals” (Samuels, 258).  This definition, as we will find, is actually a very reasonable way to explain the Korean War. 

                Previously, the entire peninsula of Korea had been under Japanese rule until mid-1940.  With new found freedom and the capability of establishing a government, differences of opinion became noised abroad.  Eventually there became a split between the north and the south despite the efforts of the people and the UN to unify the people.  The following months of decision making and policy decisions eventually led to the emergence of a high risk situation on both sides.  It was said that: “The Republic of Korea (South Korea) was officially established on August 15. [Syngman] Rhee(the countries newly elected president) purged South Korean politics of Communists, many of whom headed north to prepare for war against the South. North Korea held parliamentary elections on August 25, 1948. On September 9, the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was proclaimed, led by former anti-Japanese guerilla fighter Kim Il-Sung. By the end of 1948, the Korean peninsula was divided into two different nations, each supported by their ideological counterparts.”(Korean War Timeline." Korean War Timeline)

                The newly defined borders of the two separate states with very different political views created great political tension among the two states. The South had been established as a democracy with the help of the American government while the North had been established as a communist country with the assistance of the Soviet government.  This paints a perfect picture for the political reasons stated in our definition of interstate warfare.  Two states had been established and both had a political agenda much different than the other.  Political violence between the two states began on June 25, 1950. North Korea crossed into the borders of South Korea and attacked unexpectedly.  By the next day North Korea was into the borders of the borders of the South Korean capital.  The war became very bloody and totaled deaths in the tens of thousands before the conflict ceased.  South Korea was supported by the U.S. while North Korea was given support from Communist Russia as well as China and Japan.  Eventually a peace treaty was signed on July 27, 1953 and the borders were reestablished between the two states.  (Korean War Timeline." Korean War Timeline)

                Referring back to the definition we used in the above paragraphs, the war between North and South Korea does fit within the definition given by the text.  Two states acting out of a political agenda chose to go to war with one another.  Political violence was used by the states in an attempt to achieve their political goals.  It is not surprising to see that the conflict was between a communist state and a democratic state.  Other examples of political conflict have spawned from this same situation and resulted in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.  Politics have many times been a justification for war and conflict with one another.

 

 

Works Cited

"Korean War Timeline." Korean War Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2012 <http://www.authentichistory.com/1946-1960/2-korea/1-timeline/index.html>.

Samuels, David J. "Political Violence." Comparative Politics. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2011. 29. Print.