What Is Participatory Governance? A Trend or a Myth
Hen-Chin Chen*
Abstract
The role of government has expanded dramatically over the past few years in providing essential services to the general public. Seen in greater details, these services were made by government bureaucrats who possessed a high degree of autonomy but who were not directly accountable to the affected citizens. Recently, these trends have been challenged as many citizens are dissatisfied with the outcomes of services. The main method to improve this is through the direct inclusion of members of the public in state agencies.
A range of drivers has been identified to explain the popularity of participatory governance. However, are we witnessing a fundamental transformation or just the latest fad of public service? The purpose of this paper is to analyze the benefits and detriments of having citizens directly involved in decision-making regarding public affairs.
The argument here is not to suggest that participatory governance is a myth; rather, this paper intends to engage in a more realistic discussion, especially under the circumstances of political culture and the method of decision-making. Finally, this paper suggests that successfully engaging citizens in the policy-making process will enhance credibility and legitimacy.
Keywords: participatory governance, democratic administration, governance structure, bureaucratic system, market competition
*Professor, Dept. of Public Administration and Policy, National Taipei University, Taiwan.