Measuring the Quality of Democratic Governance

This chapter introduces variables related to the quality of governance in Northeast Asia democracies (Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan). It is critical of the prioritization of macroeconomic well-being over social or political development by the neoliberal project and by states in the region. It posits that “good democratic governance” as opposed to merely efficient governance, is that set of policy prescriptions and practices which prioritizes the interests of the most vulnerable sections of society, and that the most foundational interests of these individuals can be found in newly emerging human-centric discourse in the fields of both security and development. It introduces a broad spectrum of views on democratic governance in both theory and practice, as well as containing short previews of the chapters which follow.