Why mission-directed governance risks authoritarianism: lessons from East Asia

Cheang, Bryan (2024) Why mission-directed governance risks authoritarianism: lessons from East Asia. Journal of Institutional Economics, 20. ISSN 1744-1374

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Abstract

Recently, scholars have advanced an ideal of the entrepreneurial state in which industrial policy is pursued in a mission-directed manner. Crucially, this perspective does not merely call for the heavier use of industrial policy, but envisions the state as a central focal point, mobilising society around the pursuit of a common mission. Using the historical example of East Asia's developmental state, which closely resembles its contemporary variant, I demonstrate that mission-directionality - should it be consistently applied - tends towards the pursuit of a singular overarching mission, and could require the use of authoritarian and disciplinary mechanisms to sustain mission focus in an environment of uncertainty. In turn, this potential risk arises because mission-directionality seeks to transcend the otherwise directionless nature of market-based and democratic decision-making through the use of bureaucratic discretion, to align the behaviour of social actors in a cohesive and directional manner.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author
Divisions:	STICERD School of Public Policy
Subjects:	J Political Science H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2024 16:25
Last Modified:	26 Oct 2025 01:01
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125640

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