An Evolutionary Perspective of Governance: The dilemma of participatory democracy in neoliberal times

Abstract

Neoliberal globalisation is proliferating in Malaysia. As a result, it has gradually been corroding environmental and social cohesion. This has further decreased democracy in the country’s planning processes. This research attempts to engage with both the tension created by neoliberalism’s hegemony and how planning practices have reshaped decision making. This reflects the reconceptualised role of planners in the 21st century. Paradoxically, this perspective also illuminates the reforms of governance modes that have marginalised the public from consultative processes. Foucault’s notion of governmentality, which embodies a certain set of practices and way of thinking, was adopted to analyse the planning practices by which actions, strategies and techniques are shaped and shifted towards a neoliberal order. This also enables reflection upon what appears to be Foucault’s conception of power that discerns the act to resist freely; when there is no form of resistance, then power itself is absent, instead becoming outright oppression and domination. This notion suggests that a consultative planning approach can both challenge and also reinforce the dynamics of power relations and signal a process of de-politicisation in planning practices by (un)intentionally re-orienting decision making towards a neoliberal agenda. This research adopts a mixed-method form of research that is retrofitted to what is, in essence, a problem-driven approach. This approach, known as Flyvbjerg’s (2001, 2012) phronetic social science approach, is significant for revealing the power relations and core values of the real world. As phronetic social science does not relate to any particular research method, this research adopts a case study approach to collect, interpret and analyse the data collected. Further, the research is inspired by the theoretical framework of evolutionary governance theory (EGT) in its analysis of the subject and object formation and adopts the techniques of object stabilisation to explain the nature of reality or rhetoric in response to neoliberal globalisation’s pressure. A case study highlighting Malaysia examines how its evolution and historical junctures have changed the ways in which the social order is defined and regulated in everyday planning practices. Thus, the research investigates the nature of a consultative process on the ground and thus offers insight into the possibilities of bringing a more democratic form of planning practice to Malaysia’s planning system. The data were drawn from document analysis and in-depth interviews with planners, members of parliament, local councillors, developers and nongovernment organisations. The findings highlighted the tensions between competing actors in the planning system and emphasised the imbalance of power under which the public have few options to resist. This situation hinders effective consultative processes. The investigation revealed that the conduct of planning practices has become incorporated into a set of ‘common sense’ that ultimately structure the formation of the object so that it become ‘real’; for example, modifying a ‘green lungs’ area to become a new generation city. In these circumstances, planning and the planning profession itself may need democratic reform to balance economic, social and environmental needs in response to the challenges underpinned by neoliberal mantras.