The Effects of Political Trust and Civil Liberty on Anti-Terrorism Police Power in South Korea

• In Event: International CJ Policy and Practice II

Abstract

When nations face security threats and/or national crisis, governments often find it difficult to respond to problems that arise without the cooperation and support of their citizens. Cooperation with citizens and agreement on the trade-off between liberty and national security and perceived to be necessary when the nation faces threat.
This study explores South Korean' perceptions of police powers for anti-terrorism. It seeks to understand why some people are more willing to accept police power for anti-terrorism at the expense of civil liberties. This study tests specific hypotheses regarding the relation between trust and confidence in government and attitudes toward these expanded anti-terrorism police powers across various ideological and socio-demographic subgroups.
This examination of South Korean perspectives on anti-terrorism policy can offer an important insight into the reciprocal relations between government policy and citizens' trust in government.

Author

• Junghwan Bae, University of South Florida