| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺北大學 === 社會學系 === 107 === Participatory budgeting is thriving in Taiwan and has been implemented by both central and local government to promote civic participation for the past three years. Many civic groups expect this institutional practice to deepen democratic consolidation. However, is participatory budgeting an effective approach to civic empowerment and redistribution of social resources? Civil society always has diverse voices and interests. The implantation of participatory budgeting cannot be separated from the existing administrative body and the parliament system. This research explores the practices of participatory budgeting in Taipei City and focuses on its relationship with the existing political system and practice.
The data for the study included participant observation of Taipei City’s participatory budgeting committee from 2015 to 2018, analysis of documents related to the committee’s records, and semi-structured interviews with active participants such as village chiefs, committee members, and people who are involved in the participatory budgeting. This study has three main findings: First, practices of participatory budgeting rely on existing political institutions and cannot be separated from traditional, political, and cultural practice. Laypeople do not have sufficient time and political skill to engage in the whole process. Second, village chiefs play a significant role in the process. Their active participation becomes a challenge in encouraging civic engagement in participatory budgeting. Finally, this study suggests that the Taiwan public sphere should pay attention to local social relationships to understand the interaction between participatory budgeting and traditional politics.
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