Gidong Kim

Gidong Kim

Gidong Kim, Ph.D.

  • Korea Program Postdoctoral Fellow, 2023-2025

Biography

Gidong Kim joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as Korea Program Postdoctoral Fellow beginning Fall 2023. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Missouri, as well as both a M.A. and a B.A. in Political Science from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He studies comparative political behavior and economy in East Asia, with particular focus on nationalism and identity politics, inequality and redistribution, and migration in South Korea and East Asia. His work is published or forthcoming in journals including Journal of East Asian Studies, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Asian Perspective, Korea Observer, and Social Science Quarterly

His dissertation, “Nationalism and Redistribution in New Democracies: Nationalist Legacies of Authoritarian Regimes,” investigates the micro-level underpinnings that sustain weak welfare system in developmental states. He argues that authoritarian leaders who encounter twin challenges of nation-building and modernization tend to utilize nationalism as an effective ruling and mobilizing strategy for national development. As a result, nationalism shaped under the authoritarianism can embed pro-development norms, which can powerfully shape citizens' preferences for redistribution even after democratization. He tests my theoretical argument using a mixed-method approach, including in-depth interview, survey experiment, and cross-national survey data analysis.

At APARC, Gidong will transform his dissertation project into a book manuscript. Also, he will lead collaborative projects about nationalism, racism, and democratic crisis to address emerging social, economic, and political challenges in Korea and, more broadly, Asia. 

publications

Journal Articles
March 2024

Public Opinion, Rivalry, and the Democratic Peace

Author(s)
cover link Public Opinion, Rivalry, and the Democratic Peace
Journal Articles
October 2023

When Authoritarian Legacies Matter: Constructive and Blind National Pride and Voter Turnout in New Democracies

Author(s)
cover link When Authoritarian Legacies Matter: Constructive and Blind National Pride and Voter Turnout in New Democracies
Journal Articles
November 2022

National identity, partisanship, and attitudes toward North Korean defectors in South Korea

Author(s)
cover link National identity, partisanship, and attitudes toward North Korean defectors in South Korea

Current research

In The News

Gidong Kim
Q&As

Popular Political Sentiments: Understanding Nationalism and Its Varied Effects on Liberal Democracy

Korea Program Postdoctoral Fellow Gidong Kim discusses his research into nationalism and its behavioral consequences in Korea and East Asia.
cover link Popular Political Sentiments: Understanding Nationalism and Its Varied Effects on Liberal Democracy