Political parties and political engineering in the Asia Pacific region
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2003
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Honolulu: East-West Center
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Democracies need both strength and flexibility enough structure to transform a kaleidoscope of public opinion into coherent debate and effective policy, but enough openness to protect individual rights. Finding this balance is a particular challenge in ethnically diverse emerging democracies. Political parties usually serve a country best when they are limited in number, strong, and broad-based. Their evolution was once left mainly to chance; today, governments often seek to influence the process. Among those attempting reforms are Papua New Guinea, home to hundreds of languages; Indonesia, with its separatist movements; the Philippines, experimenting with ways to balance party interests with other social concerns; and Thailand, whose once fragmented political scene seems headed toward domination by one party. Their strategies for encouraging stable party systems range from minimum-vote thresholds to efforts to stiffen internal party discipline. Much can be learned from these Asia Pacific efforts at political engineering including the need for a cautious approach that minimizes unforeseen consequences and costs.
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For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/
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Political parties - Asia, Political parties - Pacific Area, Asia - Politics and government, Pacific Area - Politics and government
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8 pages
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