Parallel Paths to Local Democracy in Asia

Abstract

Extensive experimentation with new democratic institutions took place in Asia across the 1980s and 1990s, but PB only formally arrived at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The spread of PB across Asia thus stems from democratic impulses to empower citizens in new democracies. This chapter focuses on three countries—South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia—to illuminate key trends in the region. The chapter shows that a small number of local governments initially adopted “PB-like” programs. Positive evaluations of these programs then spurred national governments to mandate PB to incorporate large segments of the population in public decision-making. An additional focus, toward the end of this chapter, is the expansion of PB to China because it helps to illuminate how the malleability of PB’s rules enables local governments to implement the program in authoritarian contexts; the use of PB by authoritarian governments is one of the most controversial issues facing PB today. The cases from Asia reviewed in this chapter offer the promise of social and political change. However, the limitations on evidence means that enough information about these programs’ specific impacts is still lacking.