East Asia Institute organized and hosted the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) Fourth Workshop in Taipei, Taiwan on February 11-12, 2017. Not only ADRN representatives and potential members, but scholars and experts on democracy research, program officers and research staff affiliated with emerging democracies in Asia, and representatives from grant-making foundations located in Taiwan contributed to the discussion. At the workshop, participants shared think tank landscape in their respective countries, and opportunities and challenges facing research ideas being translated into policy.

ADRN was launched in 2013 under the EAI’s leadership in order to analyze challenges against democracy in Asia and collaborate on pragmatic research projects that can contribute to democracy promotion and consolidation in the region. Democracy-related research think tanks from eight Asian countries, including South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka are currently participating in this network. The ADRN is seeking to expand its scope by inviting institutions from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan. EAI is currently serving as a secretariat of the ADRN.

Participant

ADRN Members
Aira Azhari, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Malaysia)
Chin-en Wu, Academia Sinica & Asian Barometer (Taiwan)
Kaustuv Chakrabarti, Society for Participatory Research in Asia (India)
Sook Jong Lee, East Asia Institute (South Korea)
Thawilwadee Bureekul, King Prajadhipok’s Institute (Thailand)
Tobias Basuki, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (Indonesia)
Yuho Nishimura, Genron NPO (Japan)

ADRN Potential Members
Francisco A. Magno, Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance (Philippines)
Hector D. Soliman, INCITEGov (Philippines)
Syed Hassan Akbar, Jinnah Institute (Pakistan)
U Khine Win, Sandhi Governance Institute (Myanmar)
U Myat Thu, Yangon School of Political Science (Myanmar)
Eric Yu, National Chengchi University (Taiwan)

Project Coordinators
HyeeJung Suh, East Asia Institute (South Korea)
Sun Ryung Park, East Asia Institute (South Korea)
JeeHyun Nam, East Asia Institute (South Korea)

Observer
Bomi Kim, Sungkyunkwan University (South Korea)
Szu-chien Hsu, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (Taiwan)
Yun-han Chu, National Taiwan University (Taiwan)
Lynn Lee, National Endowment for Democracy (U.S.)
Paul Rothman, Center for International Media Assistance (U.S.)
Christopher Walker, National Endowment for Democracy (U.S.)

Program

Saturday, February 11, 201709:00-09:05       Welcoming Remarks
09:05-09:15       Introduction of Background and Agenda

“Building Policy Networks: Current State and Challenges”
09:15-10:45       Presentation I: India, Malaysia
10:45-11:00       Coffee Break
11:00-12:30       Presentation II: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan
12:30-13:30       Lunch
13:30-15:00       Presentation III: Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan
15:00-15:15       Coffee Break
15:15-16:45       Presentation IV: Philippines, Myanmar

Sunday, February 12, 2017
09:00-12:30       Learning from Good Practices
12:30-13:30       Lunch
13:30-15:30       Action Plans for Democratic Coalition-building