Dealing with COVID-19 in South Korea: reflections on state theories

Abstract

In this paper, we reflect on South Korea’s relative success in dealing with COVID-19 from the perspective of state theories. Korea’s success was due to the legacies of the developmental state, combined with the elements of the regulatory state and the network state, and facilitated by IT development. We also argue that we are witnessing a new state type that no longer features the existing state types’ obsession with economic development. The emerging state type is concerned with human security and actively utilizes IT and collaborative governance to predict and prepare for future contingencies. We label this a ‘provident state’.