ABSTRACT
Across a range of democratic and authoritarian political regimes around the world—including in Southeast Asia—new consultative institutions have expanded opportunities for citizens to participate in public policy deliberations. But how do we explain the emergence and political implications of these institutions? The political economy approach here is premised on the observation that the inability of existing institutions to contain or address conflict—especially in a context of intensified inequalities under advanced capitalist development—has precipitated a new phase in struggles over who can participate, how and on what basis in public policy consultations. The mode of participation (MOP) framework adopted here emphasises the historically specific and dynamic social foundations of political institutions. The framework can explain differences in the extent and forms of new MOPs. It can also explain why in Southeast Asia they have almost uniformly succeeded in containing democratic forces, most notably by politically fragmenting reformist forces. The focus here is on Singapore, where the People’s Action Party government has introduced the most extensive and innovative MOPs in the region. The institutional arrangements and supporting ideologies of these MOPs reflect the material, political and ideological interests of technocratic politico-bureaucrats under state capitalism and authoritarianism in Singapore.
