Bilateralism

Bilateralism refers to the political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which refers to the conduct of diplomacy by a single state or multiple states, respectively. When states recognize one another as sovereign states and agree to develop diplomatic relations, they exchange diplomatic agents such as ambassadors to facilitate dialogues and cooperations that will be exchanged. It is an agreement that is affecting or undertaken by two parties; a mutual agreement.

Economic agreements, such as free trade agreements (FTA) or Foreign direct investment (FDI), signed by two states, are a common example of bilateralism. Since most economic agreements are signed according to the specific characteristics of the contracting countries to give preferential treatment to each other, not a generalized principle but a situational differentiation is needed. Thus through bilateralism, states can obtain more tailored agreements and obligations that only apply to particular contracting states. However, the states will face a trade-off because it is more wasteful in transaction costs than the multilateral strategy. In a bilateral strategy, a new contract has to be negotiated for each participant. So it tends to be preferred when transaction costs are low and the member surplus, which corresponds to “producer surplus” in economic terms, is high. Moreover, this will be effective if an influential state wants control over small states from a liberalism perspective, because building a series of bilateral arrangements with small states can increase a state's influence.

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of state's official representative (i.e. the monarch, president, or governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers.

The prime minister is often, but not always, a member of parliament and is expected with other ministers to ensure the passage of bills through the legislature. In some monarchies the monarch may also exercise executive powers (known as the royal prerogative) that are constitutionally vested in the crown and may be exercised without the approval of parliament.

Park Chung-hee

Park Chung-hee (Korean: [paktɕ͈ʌŋhi] 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean president, and military general who led South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979. Park seized power through the May 16 coup, a military coup d'état that overthrew the Second Republic of South Korea in 1961 and ruled as a military strongman at the head of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction until his election and inauguration as the President of the Third Republic of South Korea in 1963. In 1972, Park declared martial law and recast the constitution into a highly authoritarian document, ushering in the Fourth Republic of South Korea. After surviving several assassination attempts, including two operations associated with North Korea, Park was eventually assassinated on 26 October 1979 by Kim Jae-gyu, the chief of his own security services. He had led South Korea for 18 years. Park's first-born daughter, Park Geun-hye, is the current President of South Korea.

Early life and education