This book explores the evolution and impact of deliberative democracy in East Asia, focusing on Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan through a deliberative systems framework.
Democratization and democratic development in the region are intertwined with social movements, public participation, institutional reform, and deliberative innovation. The book highlights how deliberative democracy can transform politics, inform policymaking, and strengthen democratic governance, while also exploring the integration of deliberation with digital technologies and artificial intelligence to advance democratic innovations. Drawing on practical experiences, it demonstrates how democratic deliberation can shift public attitudes, shape policy, and address complex challenges.
Essential reading for students and scholars of East Asian politics and deliberative democracy, The Transformative Power of Deliberative Democracy in East Asia is also invaluable for political and social scientists interested in comparative democracy, public governance, and public participation in science and technology.
Table of Contents:
1. The Dynamics and Evolution of Deliberative Democracy in East Asia: A Deliberative Systems Perspective Part I. Digital Deliberation, Technology Governance and AI 2. Political Dynamic Shaping Public Support Technology Governance in the Metaverse: Evidence from Deliberative Polling in East Asia 3. Public Deliberation on Responsible AI Innovation: Insights from a Nationwide Online Deliberative Forum in Taiwan 4. The Transformative and Legitimacy Functions of Public Deliberation: The Alignment Assembly on Utilizing AI to Enhance Information Integrity in Taiwan Part II. Participatory Budgeting and Governance Innovation 5. Participatory Budgeting in East Asia: Making PB More Deliberative 6. Participatory Budgeting in Taipei City: Shaping Deliberative Governance and Coproducing Environmental Sustainability Part III. Institutional Deliberation, Reflection and Prospects 7. Parliament Reforms: Toward a Deep Deliberation 8. Deliberating on the Construction of Shin-Kori Unit 5 and 6: A Deliberative Poll for National Decision Making on South Korea’s Nuclear Energy Policy 9. When Deliberation is Unequal: Opinion Minorities, Opinion Support, and Opinion Change in Small Group Deliberation 10. Deliberating Solar Energy Futures Online: A Comparative Analysis of Digital Citizen Engagement in Tokyo and Hong Kong 11. Culture, Reasoning and the Epistemic Quality of Deliberation 12. Conclusion: Moving Forward on Deliberative Democracy in East Asia
About the Author :
Mei-Fang Fan is Distinguished Professor at the Institute of Science, Technology and Society, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Associate Editor of Environmental Science & Policy. Research interests include environmental politics, deliberative democracy, public engagement in science and technology, and risk governance. She is the author of Deliberative Democracy in Taiwan: A Deliberative Systems Perspective (Routledge, 2021).
Alice Siu is Associate Director of the Deliberative Democracy Lab and Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law housed at the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University. She is a lead collaborator on the AI-assisted Stanford Online Deliberation Platform, a partnership with the Crowdsourced Democracy Team at Stanford University.
