CLARK, Cal

Democracy, bureaucracy, and state capacity in Taiwan - New York : Marcel Dekker, 2000

Taiwan has long had a reputation for effective policy-making based on a hightly skilled and educated bureaucracy. In addition, this capacity for technocratic leadership has not resulted in a huge, inefficient bureaucracy since the size of government remains comparatively small. This paper explores the implications of Taiwan's recent democratization for the effectiveness of the country's public administration. On the one hand, democratization reduced the power of regime conservatives, thereby expanding the role of technolocrats in the government; on the other burgeoning corruption and policy gridlock have clearly undercut effective policy-making. Thus, the most fundamental challenge for public administration in Taiwan appears to be re-estabilishing the bureacratic integrity of technocratic government