When Deliberative Democracy Travels to China: an Example of Cultural Exceptionalism
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When Deliberative Democracy Travels to China: An Example of Cultural Exceptionalism Li-chia Lo ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5731-7971 March, 2018 School of Social and Political Science Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of PhD – Arts University of Melbourne 0 Abstract Global interdependence has stimulated the necessity of establishing the conversation between the Western traditions and non-Western traditions. Political concepts developed in one society, for example in the West, may have different implications in another society, such as in non-Western contexts. The meaning of political theory is constantly transformed and show different interpretations from the trajectory that we used to know. One example will be the use of deliberative democracy which is a concept developed from the West. On the one hand, the development of deliberative democracy in China is deeply connected with the contexts of its culture, institution, socio-political traditions, and its local experiment. On the other hand, the adoption of deliberative democracy in China shows signs and conditions of democratization brought by incremental changes due to the cultivation of the deliberative capacity. The duality between the local contexts and the universal trend of democratization constitutes the basic theme of deliberative democracy in China. With the inspiration from Edward Said’s Traveling Theory and Giorgio Agamben’s concepts of exception and example, this dissertation will discuss why and how the development of deliberative democracy in China is heading toward cultural exceptionalism rather than embracing the universalism prescribed in the normative goal of deliberative democracy. 1 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY This thesis does not contain material which has been accepted for any other degree in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by any other person, except where due reference is given within. It comprises only original work toward the degree of PhD – Arts. The thesis is fewer than the maximum word limit in length. Signature: 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The moment has finally arrived! My winding PhD journey started at a very young age, and it took me more than 10 years to get on the right track and arrive at the destination. This journey was so long that I once almost lost faith in myself. There are so many things that have exceeded my expectations along the path of pursuing a PhD degree. Studying at the University of Melbourne may be the most unexpected one, and it turned out to be the turning point in my life. My PhD journey would not have begun if I had not received the full support from the University of Melbourne. I can never forget the exhilarating moment when the full scholarship notice sat in my mailbox. It not only supported my life in Australia but also made my field trips to China and conference presentations possible. Beyond that, I have received enormous help from the well-established academic community at the university. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors - Prof. Adrian Little and Dr. Pradeep Taneja. They trusted me to conduct this innovative project and offered me crucial advice and encouragement when I needed it. Furthermore, in every challenge I had to go through and each presentation I had to do, their strong support was always there. I also appreciate the support of A/Prof. John Fitzgerald, the chair of my thesis. He more than once recognized the significance of my thesis and praised the originality of my work. Whenever I felt stuck with my thesis, he was the person who showed me the light at the end of the tunnel. There are also many faculty members that I would like to thank. I will never forget Dr. Kate Macdonald’s guidance in clarifying the direction of my thesis. My deepest gratitude also goes to Dr. Clayton Chin and Dr. Daniel Mccarthy. I have learned so much from Clayton through the rewarding experience of tutoring for his subject. Daniel opened the door to the field of international relations for me and has generously shared much valuable advice on my papers and job hunting. The wonderful experience of my PhD journey would not have been the same without my fellow PhD comrades. I especially owe my greatest debt to Caroline Chia, who read every word of my thesis and offered tremendous help to make this thesis perfect. The same goes to Aleks Deejay, who has always been there and backed me up when I need it. Moreover, on this journey full of joy, sorrow, and frustration, I am glad that Sophie Reid was always there. 3 From her example, I know what a great tutor should look like. Finally, I always remember the warm regards of my friends during our time together. They are El Anisha, Sylvia Ang, Mathew Beyer, Roksolana Cyxo, David Duriesmith, Awoh Emmanuel, Andrew Gibbons, Ben Glasson, Ryan Gustafsson, Adam Hannah, Bibiana Huggins, Hamza bin Jehangir, Ted Liu, Tom Mcnamara, Kasumi Nishida, Amanda Rosenstock, Jeremiah Thomas, Sitthana Theerathitiwong, Hani Yulindrasari, and Tamas Wells. It is you who make my life in Melbourne so special, and the list goes endlessly. Please forgive me if I forgot to put your name on the list. Outside the University of Melbourne, there are people I truly admire and deeply appreciate what they have done for me. Because of Assistant Professor Mi Shih and Professor Carolyn Cartier, I was able to survive in Sydney and build my knowledge in China Studies. Mi showed me the spirit that a researcher should have, and Carolyn set an example of how to be a respectful scholar. When I lost faith in myself, their encouragement gave me strength to move on. I also gained valuable experience from my RA work for Assistant Professor Jonathan Hassid. In the meantime, I cannot forget the timely support from Prof. John Dryzek and Dr. Nicole Curato at the final stage of my PhD candidature. Their invitation brought me to Canberra and taught me that as a collective effort, deliberative democracy is more than what academic works tell us. Prof. Dryzek perfectly demonstrates that what a world-class theorist does is remain open to different opinions. Nicole’s hospitality made my visit in Canberra a heart warming trip. She shows deliberative democracy can include caring, listening, and hope. Finally, I want to thank my most important partner not only in my PhD journey but also in my life, Jane. This is neither the first time nor the last time will I thank her devotion in every milestone of my life. She knows how much I have been through to achieve this. Behind every struggle I had to face, she was always behind me and walked me through each frustration with her gentle and caring heart. She is the source of my resilience, and she never doubted I could become whom I want to be. I am glad that we have both completed milestones in our life in Australia, and we will move on and be there for each other. Once again, I want to thank everyone who has participated in my long journey to PhD. As the journey has reached its destination, it is time to say, “Farewell, PhD life! After all the hardships and accomplishment, I am ready for new challenges in the next journey”. 4 Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 11 1.1 Problematizing the Translation of Deliberative Democracy in China ........................ 11 1.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 15 1.3 Interpretive Approach, Agamben, & Data Collection ................................................... 16 1.4 Discourses of Democratization & Deliberative Democracy in China......................... 20 1.5 Chinese Discourses on Deliberative Democracy & Thesis Outline ............................ 22 1.6 Concluding Remarks .......................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 2 Situating Xieshang Minzhu: A Peculiar Development of Deliberative Democracy in China .......................................................................................................................... 27 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 27 2.2 China as an Exception to Democratization ..................................................................... 29 2.3 Deliberative Democracy & Its Turn to China ................................................................ 37 2.4 China as an Exception to Democratization and Deliberative Democracy .................. 50 2.5 From Exception to Deliberative Democracy to Xieshang Minzhu as Exception ....... 56 Chapter 3 Methodology & Methods .......................................................................................... 59 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 59 3.2 Interpretive Theory ............................................................................................................. 59 3.3 Agamben’s Interpretive Theory ....................................................................................... 67 3.4 Research Methods & Research Design ........................................................................... 80 3.5 Concluding Remarks .......................................................................................................... 86 Chapter 4 The Point