Abstracts Category : Other

Political and Policy Responses to the Sewol Ferry Disaster: Examining Change through Multiple Theory Lenses

by Ki Woong Cho

South Korea, having experienced a recent transition from developing to developed country, is useful for examining the application of theories about U.S. disaster policy process, and the April 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster provides a particularly salient case study for this purpose. Focusing on the Sewol Ferry disaster, this study examines policy changes through three competing policy theory lenses. The Sewol Ferry disaster was more than a mere tragedy; it quickly became a major political issue. As a result of the immensity of the disaster and the sheer number of fatalities, new agendas and laws on emergencies were enacted, including three significant acts specifically referenced to the Sewol accident. To illuminate agenda setting processes related to these three Sewol Acts, this study conducts three parallel qualitative case studies, employing a single case (embedded) design, so that the parallel case analyses are intended to illuminate three theoretical perspectives about policy development: Multiple Streams Approach (MSA), Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET), and Blame Avoidance Motivation (BAM). Based on three case studies (chapter 4-6), this study seeks to reveal gaps between theoretical and practical solutions (fitness or similarities to the policy theory lenses and differences from the theories) based on three case studies by applying the three theories originating in the U.S. on the Sewol Ferry disaster in South Korea. In chapter 7, this study draws on recent disaster policy frameworks generated in the United States and holds them up similarly to the Sewol disaster. This analysis draws also on a model of indigenous administrative theories to illuminate how imported theories often require being filtered through a receiving country's traditional deep cultural values; societal domains of politics, economics, and culture; and management modeling, tools, and techniques. This study finds similarities and differences between U.S. and Korean disaster policy experiences based on the Sewol Ferry disaster and concludes with implications for transferring these lessons to other national contexts, including less developed countries. A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. Spring Semester 2017. February 23, 2017. Ralph Brower, Professor Directing Dissertation; Steve McDowell, University Representative; Frances S. Berry, Committee Member; Keon-Hyung Lee, Committee Member.Advisors/Committee Members: Ralph S. Brower (professor directing dissertation), Stephen D. McDowell (university representative), Frances Stokes Berry (committee member), Keon-Hyung Lee (committee member).