Epistemic Communities and Grassroots Movements: the Case of the Meinung Dam
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES AND GRASSROOTS MOVEMENTS: THE CASE OF THE MEINUNG DAM by Courtney Beaubien B.A. (Honours), Carleton University, 2000 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN PLANNING in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA January 2004 ©Courtney Beaubien, 2004 Library Authorization In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis: ;A; r C ' L • . De9ree: Year: Department of i^arQuCk^^ The University of British Columbia^ " *- Vancouver, BC Canada 11 Abstract This study's objective is to assess the influence of epistemic communities on grassroots movements. The case study uses the Meinung anti-dam movement in Taiwan as an example of a grassroots movement and a network of sustainable water resource experts as an example of an epistemic community. A mixed-method qualitative approach consisting of interviews, literature reviews and content analyses determines that members of the epistemic community changed the anti-dam movement's platform and activities. The study concludes that in addition to their established role as networks that shape and coordinate the policy preferences of decision-makers, epistemic communities play a broader role in policy processes by strengthening locally-based movements. Key Words: dams; epistemic communities; grassroots movements; Taiwan Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables vi List of Figures vii Acknowledgements viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 DEFINING THE RESEARCH Focus 1 1.2 FRAMING THE ISSUES 4 1.3 METHODOLOGY 6 1.3.1 Phase 1: Collecting Background Information 7 1.3.2 Phase 2: Defining the Epistemic Community 8 1.3.3 Phase 3: Analysing Epistemic Community Involvement in the Movement 11 1.3.4 Limitations of the Research 11 1.4 OUTLINE 13 1.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY 14 Chapter 2: Theoretical Context 15 2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY APPROACH 15 2.1.1 Epistemic Communities and Policy-Making 17 2.1.2 Ecological Epistemic Communities 21 '( 2.2 EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES AND CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF PUBLIC POLICY 29 2.3 EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES AND STUDIES OF INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY 32 2.3.1 Transnational Network Types 33 2.3.2 Clarifying the Relationship between Epistemic Communities and NGOs 34 2.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY 35 Chapter 3: Epistemic Communities and Dams 36 3.1 OVERVIEW OF DAM BUILDING : 36 3.2 DEFINING AN EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY OF SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCE EXPERTS 38 3.2.1 Criterion 1: Shared Set of Normative and Principled Beliefs 38 3.2.2 Criterion 2: Shared Causal Beliefs 40 3.2.3 Criterion 3: Shared Notions of Validity 41 3.2.4 Criterion 4: Common Policy Enterprise 43 3.3 IDENTIFYING MEMBERS OF THE EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY 44 3.3.1 Linking Members of the Epistemic Community 46 3.4 ASSESSING THE EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY'S INFLUENCE ON POLICY 47 3.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY 49 Chapter 4: Contextual Information on Taiwan 51 4.1 THE RISE OF TAIWANESE CIVIL SOCIETY 51 4.1.1 1947-1962: Political Forces in Absolute Command. 51 4.1.2. 1963-1978: Economic Forces in Relative Command 53 IV 4.1.3 1979-Present: Social Forces in Mobilisation 54 4.2 THE TAIWANESE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 55 4.2.1 Overview of the Taiwanese Environmental Movement 56 4.2.2 Taiwanese Environmentalism and Recent Political Developments 57 4.3 EXPERTS IN THE TAIWANESE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 59 4.3.1 Taiwanese Experts 60 4.3.2 Foreign Experts 62 4.4 TAIWAN'S GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS 63 4.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY.... • 64 Chapter 5: The Meinung Anti-Dam Movement 65 5.1 PROFILE OF MEINUNG 65 5.1.1 The People '. 65 5.1.2 The Economy : 66 5.2 THE PROPOSED DAM 68 5.2.1 Industrial Water Demands 68 5.3 THE GRASSROOTS ANTI-DAM MOVEMENT 71 5.3.1 The Meinung People's Association 72 5.3.2 The Labor Exchange Band 73 5.4 THE CURRENT SITUATION 73 5.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY 75 Chapter 6: The Epistemic Community in Meinung 76 6.1 CONNECTING EXPERTS TO THE EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY 76 6.1.1 Philip Williams • 76 6.1.2 G. Mathias Kondolf 84 6.1.3 Linking Members of the Epistemic Community 90 6.2 EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN THE ANTI-DAM MOVEMENT 91 6.2.1 Phase 1: Establishing Ties to the Movement 91 6.2.2 Phase 2: Involving other Actors 94 6.2.3 Phase 3: Changes to the Movement's Platform 96 6.2.4 Phase 4: Changes to the Movement's Activities 102 6.3 CHAPTER SUMMARY 106 Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations 108 7.1 I DENTIFYING THE OUTCOMES 108 7.2 INTERPRETING THE RESULTS 109 7.2.1 Relevance to Planning 109 7.3 RECOMMENDATIONS TO GENERALISE THE RESULTS 111 7.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESEARCH ON EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES 112 7.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY • 113 Bibliography 114 Appendix A: Interview Questions 137 Appendix B: Approaches to the Study of Policy Change 139 Appendix C: The World Commission on Dams: A Brief Chronology of Events 140 Appendix D: Profile of WCD Commissioners 142 Appendix E: Profiles of the Epistemic Community Members : 143 V Appendix F: Letter from Patrick McCully to Somphone Phanousith 163 Appendix G: Letter from Thayer Scudder to Abdelfattah Amor 165 Appendix H: Letter from Patrick McCully to David McDowell 168 Appendix I: Some Official Reactions to the WCD Report 170 Appendix J: Five Initial Reasons against the Dam Project 172 Appendix K: Example of the Labor Exchange Band's Songs 173 Appendix L: Profiles of Kondolf and Williams.. 174 Appendix M: Letter of Opposition to the Meinung Dam 185 Appendix N: Profile of Jeffrey Hou 189 Appendix O: Eleven Major Concerns on the Meinung Dam 195 vi List of Tables Table 2.1: Case Studies of Epistemic Communities and Policy Coordination 22 Table 2.2: Previous Uses of Haas' Framework for Epistemic Communities 24 Table 3.1: Comparing the Larger Dam Industry and the Epistemic Community 44 Table 3.2: Categorising the WCD Commissioners : 45 Table 5.1: Features of the Proposed Meinung Dam 68 vii List of Figures Figure 3.1: Construction of Dams by Decade (1900-2000) 37 Figure 3.2: Links among Members of the Epistemic Community 47 Figure 5.1: Location of Meinung 65 Figure 5.2: Map of the Meinung Dam 69 Figure 6.1: Links among Williams, Kondolf and Other Members 90 Vlll Acknowledgements This study was written under the guidance of Paul Evans of the Institute of Asian Research and Tony Dorcey of the School of Community and Regional Planning. I wish to thank them for their time, patience and mentorship over the years. The ideas expressed in this study are undoubtedly stronger because of their helpful advice. I also express my thanks to Nora Angeles, Tom Hutton and Tim McDaniels. Through course work, they have influenced several sections of this study. I wish to extend special thanks to Tim McDaniels for his role as a member of my thesis committee. I also express my sincerest thanks to the people of Meinung for their hospitality and willingness to share their story. Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends. I would especially like to thank Sarah Farina for her encouragement and willingness to read several drafts. I also acknowledge Erin Embley, Sean LeRoy and Karen Miner for their contributions as fellow members of my thesis advising group. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Defining the Research Focus Ideas have long been seen to influence policy. Leslie Pal explains, "It is clear that ideas are the instruments or weapons of policy debate, setting out positions, rationales, and strategies.'" However, the influence of ideas on policy has only recently re-emerged as a central theme in studies of the policy process. Richard Higgott states, "While a concern with the role of ideas in policy formulation, implementation and coordination is not new, the explanatory importance of ideas has gained currency with the passing of the Cold War and the loosening of the ideological straightjacket that structured much post• war foreign policymaking."2 John Kurt Jacobsen elaborates, "After a long period of indifference, and even hostility towards ideational explanations, the time for 'ideas' has come around once again in political science and especially in the field of international relations."3 Within the field of international relations, the epistemic community approach offers one perspective on the role of ideas in policy-making. In particular, the approach examines the influence of expert ideas on policy formulation and international policy coordination. It argues that networks of experts, conceived of as epistemic communities, shape policy choices and policy coordination by influencing the policy preferences of decision-makers. Ernst Haas explains, "Epistemic communities are associations of professional experts in a particular field who, because of the knowledge they have, have an unusual influence on politicians and bureaucrats, and are, therefore, able to penetrate government departments and make their ideas part of policy."4 Peter Haas, Ernst Haas' son and a recognised authority on epistemic communities, adds that "epistemic 1 Leslie A. Pal, Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction.