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Melbourne Asia Review is an initiative of the Asia Institute. Any inquiries about Melbourne Asia Review should be directed to the Managing Editor, Cathy Harper.
Edition 18, June 2024
INTRODUCTION: Democratic backsliding and Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations
This edition is a collaboration between academics and civil society involved in the Asian Network of Legislative Transparency which aims to create a tool – an Index - to assess national levels of parliamentary transparency.
Parliamentary monitoring in Indonesia: Limited transparency and unmeaningful participation
It’s been a bleak five years for legislative processes and transparency in Indonesia and that’s unlikely to change.
Making Sri Lanka’s parliament answerable, transparent and relevant: The role of Manthri.lk
Amid sometimes chaotic governance, civil society provides a level of transparency about the work of parliament.
INTERVIEW: How parliamentary monitoring organisations are helping consolidate emerging democracies
Parliamentary transparency is a key element of well-functioning democracies. But how healthy is parliamentary transparency in Asia?
Parliamentary monitoring in a failing democracy: Cambodia & COMFREL
How do parliamentary monitoring organisations function when core principles of democracy are not being upheld?
Edition 19, September 2024
Civil society and parliamentary transparency
Can parliamentary monitoring organisations help reverse democratic decline in Taiwan and Asia more broadly?
Elections are no guarantee of democracy, but parliamentary monitoring organisations (PMOs) in Asia and elsewhere may be game-changers.
South Korea’s ‘selection and election drop’ campaigns: success and challenges
How a conglomerate NGO runs influential voter information campaigns on political candidates.
Parliamentary monitoring organisations in Thailand are emerging as an essential tool for political participation
Thai civil society organisations are working towards greater democratisation, including observing elections and parliament.
The struggle for parliamentary transparency in Mongolia since the adoption of democracy
For three decades, Mongolia has maintained its status as a democracy, but there is growing evidence of backsliding.
How civil society in the Philippines helped pass the ‘Sin Tax’ law and the lessons learned
Civil society organisations built strong networks of trust with legislators against the interests of commercial lobbyists.
Myanmar’s political turmoil: The struggle for legitimacy, representation, and accountability
Civil society is struggling to provide a measure of parliamentary transparency in chaotic circumstances.
Lessons from the Latin American way of advancing parliamentary transparency
Civil society groups from 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have formed an Index to monitor legislative transparency.
‘Varieties of Civil Society Across Asia’, edited by Akihiro Ogawa and Anthony J. Spires
This book intriguingly uncovers Asian civil societies that are not well explained by Western frameworks.
Editor's picks
