Towards Responsible Government in East Asia

Towards Responsible Government in East Asia PDF Author: Linda Chelan Li
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135277982
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
This book explores the idea of responsible government in East Asia, arguing that many recent governance crises have resulted from responsibility failures on a huge scale. It distinguishes between accountability, which it argues has been overemphasised recently, and responsibility, which it argues goes beyond accountability, true responsible government involving the actor in feeling liable for and taking responsibility for his or her actions. It shows how historically the concept of responsibility is more embedded in political discussions in Asia, whereas the concepts of democracy and accountability are more embedded in the intellectual traditions of Europe, but that the challenges of revolution and post-revolution, decolonization and post-colonization and neo-liberal globalization have complicated matters. Drawing on a wide range of case studies from East Asia, and relating the concepts discussed to political theory, ethics and social psychology, the book shows how actors in government and society interact to deliberate, produce or distract from the practice and perception of “responsible government”, and suggests how the concept of “responsible government”, better defined, might be encouraged to produce better governance.

Towards Responsible Government in East Asia

Towards Responsible Government in East Asia PDF Author: Linda Chelan Li
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135277982
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book explores the idea of responsible government in East Asia, arguing that many recent governance crises have resulted from responsibility failures on a huge scale. It distinguishes between accountability, which it argues has been overemphasised recently, and responsibility, which it argues goes beyond accountability, true responsible government involving the actor in feeling liable for and taking responsibility for his or her actions. It shows how historically the concept of responsibility is more embedded in political discussions in Asia, whereas the concepts of democracy and accountability are more embedded in the intellectual traditions of Europe, but that the challenges of revolution and post-revolution, decolonization and post-colonization and neo-liberal globalization have complicated matters. Drawing on a wide range of case studies from East Asia, and relating the concepts discussed to political theory, ethics and social psychology, the book shows how actors in government and society interact to deliberate, produce or distract from the practice and perception of “responsible government”, and suggests how the concept of “responsible government”, better defined, might be encouraged to produce better governance.

Confucian Democracy in East Asia

Confucian Democracy in East Asia PDF Author: Sungmoon Kim
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107049032
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Confucian Democracy in East Asia explores the unique Confucian reasoning that still exists in much of East Asian culture.

Commonwealth Responsibility and Cold War Solidarity

Commonwealth Responsibility and Cold War Solidarity PDF Author: Dan Halvorson
Publisher: ANU Press
ISBN: 1760463248
Category : Asia
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
Australia's engagement with Asia from 1944 until the late 1960s was based on a sense of responsibility to the United Kingdom and its Southeast Asian colonies as they navigated a turbulent independence into the British Commonwealth. The circumstances of the early Cold War decades also provided for a mutual sense of solidarity with the non-communist states of East Asia, with which Australia mostly enjoyed close relationships. From 1967 into the early 1970s, however, Commonwealth Responsibility and Cold War Solidarity demonstrates that the framework for this deep Australian engagement with its region was progressively eroded by a series of compounding, external factors: the 1967 formation of ASEAN and its consolidation by the mid-1970s as the premier regional organisation surpassing the Asian and Pacific Council (ASPAC); Britain's withdrawal from East of Suez; Washington's de-escalation and gradual withdrawal from Vietnam after March 1968; the 1969 Nixon doctrine that America's Asia-Pacific allies must take up more of the burden of providing for their own security; and US rapprochement with China in 1972. The book shows that these profound changes marked the start of Australia's political distancing from the region during the 1970s despite the intentions, efforts and policies of governments from Whitlam onwards to foster deeper engagement. By 1974, Australia had been pushed to the margins of the region, with its engagement premised on a broadening but shallower transactional basis.

East Asia's Other Miracle

East Asia's Other Miracle PDF Author: Alex J. Bellamy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191083798
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
East Asia, until recently the scene of widespread blood-letting, has achieved relative peace. A region that at the height of the Cold War had accounted for around eighty percent of the world's mass atrocities has experienced such a decline in violence that by 2015 it accounted for less than five percent. This book explains East Asia's 'other' miracle and asks whether it is merely a temporary blip in the historical cycle or the dawning of a new, and more peaceful, era for the region. It argues that the decline of mass atrocities in East Asia resulted from four interconnected factors: the consolidation of states and emergence of responsible sovereigns; the prioritization of economic development through trade; the development of norms and habits of multilateralism, and transformations in the practice of power politics. Particular attention is paid to North Korea and Myanmar, countries whose experience has bucked regional trends largely because these states have not succeeded in consolidating themselves to the point where they no longer depend on violence to survive. Although the region faces several significant future challenges, this book argues that the much reduced incidence of mass atrocities in East Asia is likely to be sustained into the foreseeable future.

The Nature of Asian Politics

The Nature of Asian Politics PDF Author: Bruce Gilley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316060446
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
The Nature of Asian Politics is a broad and thematic treatment of the fundamental factors that characterize politics in the fourteen key countries of Southeast and Northeast Asia. Bruce Gilley begins with an overview of state-society relations, then moves on to the fundamental questions of development and democracy, and finally shifts to an exploration of governance and public policy in the region. This book proposes an Asian governance model that is useful for understanding politics from Japan to Indonesia. By reviving an earlier paradigm known as oriental despotism and applying it to political theories on the Asian region, this book is likely to attract wide debate among students of Asian politics and among Western policy makers seeking to engage the region.

Towards a New Development Paradigm in Twenty-first Century China

Towards a New Development Paradigm in Twenty-first Century China PDF Author: Éric Florence
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415532124
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
This book argues that the current state of China requires an important paradigm shift in the way the party-state manages the country's development, and goes on to assess the fitness of the party-state for implementing such a paradigm shift and the likelihood of the party-state bringing this about. It brings together an examination of the very latest situation in a range of key areas where current developments have the potential to undermine substantially the status quo, areas such as the recent economic crisis and the resulting economic slowdown, increasing labour unrest, mounting calls for social justice, worsening urban-rural disparity, the urgent need to implement social welfare programmes, the rise of civil society, and the impact of new media. Overall, the book provides a thorough appraisal of the difficulties which China currently faces.

Public Policymaking in Hong Kong

Public Policymaking in Hong Kong PDF Author: Eliza W.Y. Lee
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135075166
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
Why and how has civic engagement emerged in the policy process of Hong Kong as an Asian semi-democratic state? This book attempts to answer this question through examining six cases that straddle diverse policy domains. It identifies three explanatory factors, namely, the profile of a policy domain, the structure of societal interest, and the strength of the civil society sector as important in shaping the state’s strategy in managing society, hence its propensity to engage. These factors affect the outcome through dynamic interaction between the state and societal actors. The findings outlined in the book show that the development of civic engagement in Hong Kong consists of both society-led and state-led cases. Society-led development brought about a high degree of openness and inclusiveness, whereas state-led civic engagement practices tended to be tactics utilized by the state for appeasing or depoliticizing civil society. Compared with other Asian regimes, the use of ‘transgressive contention’ as a way to compel the state to engage society is a feature that stands out in the liberal autocratic regime in Hong Kong.

Government and Policy-Making Reform in China

Government and Policy-Making Reform in China PDF Author: Bill K.P. Chou
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134075421
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
China’s rapid economic development has not translated automatically into political development, with many of its institutions still in need of major reform. In the post-Mao era, despite the decentralization of local government with significant administrative and fiscal authority, China’s government and policy-making processes have retained much of the inefficiency and corruption characteristic of the earlier period. This book analyzes the implementation of government and policy-making reform in China, focusing in particular on the reform programmes instituted since the early 1990s. It considers all the important areas of reform, including the enhancement of policy-making capacity, reform of taxation and fund transfer policies, tightening of financial control, civil service reform and market deregulation. Bill K.P Chou assesses the course of policy reform in each of these areas, considers how successful reforms have been, and outlines what remains to be done. In particular, he explores the impact on the reform process of China’s entry into the WTO in 2001, demonstrating that the process of reform in China has been one of continuous conflict between the agenda of political elites in central government, and the priorities of local leaders, with local agents often distorting, delaying or ignoring the policies emanating from the central government.

The Changing Policy-Making Process in Greater China

The Changing Policy-Making Process in Greater China PDF Author: Bennis Wai Yip So
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134652216
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
This book explores how the policy-making process is changing in the very volatile conditions of present day mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It considers the overall background conditions – the need to rebalance in mainland China after years of hectic economic growth; governance transition and democratic consolidation in Taiwan; and governance crisis in Hong Kong under a regime of uncertain legitimacy. It examines the various actors in the policy-making process – the civic engagement of ordinary people and the roles of legislators, mass media and bureaucracy – and discusses how these actors interact in a range of different policy cases. Throughout the book contrasts the different approaches in the three different jurisdictions, and assesses how the policy-making process is changing and how it is likely to change further.

China's Civil Service Reform

China's Civil Service Reform PDF Author: Xiaoqi Wang (Ph. D.)
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415577489
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
As part of China's overall reform process, China's civil service has also been reformed, beginning in the late 1970s, undergoing a major change in 1993 with the implementation of a new Civil Service System, with the reforms continuing to unfold thereafter. This book, based on extensive original research, outlines the civil service reforms and assesses their effectiveness.