Abstract
From the perspective of reflexive governance, this study probes into the transformative capacity and roles of government and civil society, and aims to determine how the authoritative developmental neo-liberalism state was challenged by civil society in democratization from the end of the 1980s, when it encountered a crisis of governance legitimacy. By analyzing the anti-petrochemical movement of the recent two decades, this paper recognizes the important historic line, and proposes that without innovative governance, a regime of expert politics with hidden and delayed risk will result in higher degrees of mistrust and confrontational positions by the public. In contrast to the government, local and civil societies are growing through the anti-pollution appeals of simple group protests into systematic and robust civic knowledge and strategic action. By administrative, legislative, judicial, and risk statement paths, such strategic mobilizations break through authoritative expert politics and reshape new civic epistemology. The process of reflexive governance is extremely radical. When two parties cannot commit to dealing with a high degree of mistrust, they will not be able to manage the more dramatic threat of climate change. Fundamentally speaking, a robust civil society will be an important driving power competing with government, in terms of constructing innovative governance.
Highlights
The dialectics of economic growth and environmental protection in the context of developmental states will result in different social results
Jasanoff [15] pointed out that, in the past, due to its complexity, contemporary technological matters were directed by technocrats, which had formed invisible or monoplized domination in major industrial countries; on the contrary, if civil society could actively participate in the processes of supervision and decision-making, and systemically produce risk knowledge, it would break the monoply of technological decision-making and form civic epistemology in its society
As it was rarely expanded to a national alliance or supported by knowledge against experts, anti-pollution movements were mostly based on the self-preservation of anti-public hazard, and social robustness was initially formed in the process of political mobilization
Summary
The dialectics of economic growth and environmental protection in the context of developmental states will result in different social results. Industrial decision-making absolutely ruled by technocrats no longer exists, but are transformed to act in concert with industrial interests to formulate future direction, e.g., capitalists entered the consultation committee of government to affect economic policy in Taiwan in 1985 This phenomenon formed what Peter Evans called “embedded autonomy” [1]. This paper attempts to analyze the market-oriented developmental state in Taiwan after the mid-1980s, as well as the economic and political process of arrangements with, and withdrawal of, the petrochemical industry It includes the continuous loss of environmental protection, neglect of carbon reduction, and the threat of sanctions on the total national industry by global green conventions. By confronting historic images and lessons, this paper discusses the transformative capacity of the developmental state of Taiwan
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
