“Taking Up Space: Waste and Waste Labor in Developing South Korea” examines South Korean development experiences through the remnants of its industrialization and modernization processes, including... Show more“Taking Up Space: Waste and Waste Labor in Developing South Korea” examines South Korean development experiences through the remnants of its industrialization and modernization processes, including material waste, excess labor, or surplus population. I juxtapose the history of informal waste pickers with the transformation of waste management and the reconfiguration of its labor during the period from the 1960s to the early 1990s. By connecting the material, social, and symbolic dimensions of waste, I demonstrate how waste shaped their stigma and social position, degraded the urban environment as much as it deteriorated their living and working conditions, and brought social and environmental forces that further drove their marginalization. The case studies—waste picker camps and Seoul’s Nanjido Landfill—illustrate how concepts such as informality, precarity, and societal marginalization have been historically mediated and grounded in individuals’ lives during the country’s compressed development process.This study demonstrates how the production of marginalized populations and the disregard for their labor practices served to consolidate the developing nation-state and its middle-class citizens. It argues that the informal labor at the urban periphery was instrumental in the development process and should be recognized as legitimate labor rather than mere subsistence activities. Waste pickers not only served as agents of development but also as a precedent for precarious workers in modern Korea. The prevalence of waste pickers in contemporary South Korea indicates a diachronic implication of this dissertation, as their labor remains crucial for urban conditions while simultaneously establishing an urban form of precarity. Show less
With the issuing of guidance documents the European Commission assists the Member States in the implementation of Union law. This thesis seeks to unravel the process of governance through guidance... Show moreWith the issuing of guidance documents the European Commission assists the Member States in the implementation of Union law. This thesis seeks to unravel the process of governance through guidance by tracing its role and legal implications in the Dutch legal order.The first part explores the use of guidance documents by Dutch authorities and courts. Along the lines of five types of guidance and four perspectives on their binding force, different roles of guidance are discerned. National courts act as counterbalancing or facilitating actors by reinforcing or downplaying the role of guidance documents in implementation processes.The second part assesses the implications in the light of legal principles. To this end, it formulates four ‘promises’, or ideal effects, that outline how the use of guidance documents could contribute to a predictable, consistent and transparent implementation process, whilst respecting the rule of EU hard law. The analysis finds that, in practice, these ‘promises of guidance’ are not always fulfilled: a gap between promise and practice exists.The findings thus show how the issuing and use of guidance risks to challenge the rule of law that is so fundamental to the EU legal order. This thesis therefore invites to rethink governance through guidance. Show less
