| Summary: | 碩士 === 東吳大學 === 人權碩士學位學程 === 104 === The 318 Movement (commonly referred to as the “Sunflower Movement”) in 2014 was the biggest social movement event following the second transition of power in Taiwan’s democracy. Given the unexpected size and impact of the 318 Movement, social movement organizations (SMOs) are a critical field of study for observing the development of democracy in Taiwan. This thesis examines the internal democratic models of five 318 Movement era SMOs and the challenges they face in defining and practicing democracy within their organizations. In particular, this work seeks to identify and discuss sources of conflicts that arise between the members’ ideals of democratic praxis and the actual democracy those members experienced.
This study has three dimensions: (1) models of internal democracy within SMOs, (2) the impact of organizational structures on decision making and accountability, and (3), the conditions and qualities which led some participants within the groups to be chosen for, or assume, leadership roles. The thesis adapted and modified models of internal democracy proposed by della Porta (2009, 2014) and found that “participation” and “consensus-seeking” are the shared elements of internal democracy. In seeking to identify what kind of organizational structures ensure accountability of leadership elites, my research indicated a ‘paradox of radical democracy’, in some ways akin to that described by Freeman as the phenomenon “Tyranny of Structurelessness” in her study of SMOs, namely that organizations which adopted both representative and participative structures were more likely to exercise greater accountability of their leadership elites. Finally, utilizing Bourdieu’s capital theory, it was determined that social capital is a critical element which impacts the degree to which members to gain influence within SMOs but cultural capital, focused on ability of ‘reasonable communication’, was not always dominant in SMOs that were focused on social movement actions and adopted participated decision-making.
Broadly, the thesis finds that ideal internal democracy models of SMOs face multiple challenges in practice. The internal structure and decision-making models in SMOs provide platforms for communication but equal participation requires not only adequate mechanisms for accountability but also active members’ awareness of power dynamics within organizations. In order to be inclusive of multi-variated memberships, SMOs need to build informal communicative channels with all members by being open-minded to various formats and mechanisms of communication.
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