Going Green in Asia? Green parties in a non-western setting

Abstract

ABSTRACT Green parties, first established in the early 1970s, have now become established political actors in most western European countries, and indeed most western nations. In other parts of the globe, however, they have generally been far less successful, not the least in the Asia Pacific region. In part this can be seen as an outcome of unfavourable electoral conditions in many countries in the region, but can also be linked to western notions of Green politics embedded in post-materialism, as well as country-specific issues of clientalism, electoral violence or electoral manipulation. While Green parties in both Australia and New Zealand are well established participants in parliaments and government, by contrast the number and level of success of Green parties in Asia is both small and weak. This article will explore the range of the possible explanations for the non-success of Green parties in this rapidly democratizing region, and consider potential rationales for party failure.