The 15th Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN) Workshop was held on May 25-26. The workshop was held at the Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. A total of 50 researchers, practitioners, and activists from Japan and abroad participated in the two-day workshop.
The workshop was divided into three parts. The first part (10:15-16:15, May 25) featured presentations on vertical accountability in Asia. Vertical accountability refers to government accountability to its citizens through quality elections and quality political parties. This part focused on vertical accountability in Asia and analyzed each country, civil society, and region. First, researchers from Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Nepal, Indonesia, and Pakistan explained the situation of vertical accountability in their respective countries. In addition, researchers and practitioners made presentations on lessons from civic education programs, with examples including programs in India, Thailand, and Mongolia. Participants also discussed policy implications and regional approaches to promote vertical accountability.
The second part (16:30-20:00, 25 May) discussed networking among democracy activists in Asia. This part began with presentations on the Milk Tea Alliance Japan. In the brief explanation of the Alliance, the members shared their experiences and what they pursued to achieve through their activism as Milk Tea Alliance Japan members. Researchers and activists from Japan, Myanmar, and Hong Kong discussed how they can contribute to and deepen their understanding of the Alliance. At the end of the first day, the participants attended a working dinner, where they discussed issues in Japan and democracy support in Asia.
The third part, held on the second day (May 26), focused on countering the narratives of authoritarian states. First, researchers gave presentations on disinformation research and its application in practice, including methods of measuring disinformation and research using experimental methods. Next were presentations on narrative research and its practical applications. The presenters explained efforts to teach middle and high school students about fact-checking and survey research analyzing the impact of authoritarian narratives on Japanese citizens.
【Event report prepared by】
Nakajima Takahiro (Master’s student, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University)
Rakwong Prakrit (Doctoral student, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University)
Sulastri (Master’s student, School of International and Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University)
