Public Opinion Strategies used by Governments

Most governments shape their public opinion based on the tenets of the civil, political, bureaucratic and economic societies respectively. These are all based on the principles of good governance such as transparency, fairness, accountability, participation, efficiency and decency. In order to understand the effects of public opinion of any country, there is need for an assessment of the government officials, researchers, entrepreneurs, politicians, non-governmental representatives, civil servants and lawyers among other members of the society. All these factors determine how a government is structured and managed. This means that the perception of the citizens is also taken into a serious account in order to determine policy aggregation and implementation (Bennett 2017). There are various areas of philosophies that focus on the social and political accountability of a government from Montesquieu idea on separation of power through different arms of government, Locke’s idea of the social contract between the rulers and their subjects to the philosophies of Karl Marx, they all advocated for peaceful governance based on social accountability (Denton & Voth 2016).

One the key ideologies present in most Asian countries is based on Barrington Moore’s the idea of objectivity where the issues of repression and violence come into play as is illustrated in his book, The Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. In this book, the aspects of social class relations influence the power of a government regime. East Asia and more specifically countries such as Taiwan, Philippines, South Korea and Thailand among other countries, are some of the countries that are now enjoying third wave democracy but most of the countries and autonomous territories are still under some form of authoritarian or semi-democratic leadership (Heiner, Prof, Nazila, Dr, & Michael, Dr 2016). Authoritarianism is therefore, a cancer that is affecting most of East Asia countries because the ideals of democracy have not been accepted in most of these countries.

The Asian democracy can be summarized into four sections: social equality, freedom and liberty, good governance and finally, norms and procedures. Social equality encompasses how a country is fair in the distribution of the national resources to its population and improving the living standards of her people whereas norms and procedures may refer to the established ethical codes of conduct that the electoral, judicial and the executive arms of government of a true democracy by ensuring that these institutions operate independently without having to be influenced by the politics of the ruling regime in their favor. Freedom and liberty on the other hand refers to the concepts of civic expressions, freedom of speech and religious association among other factors while good governance refers to the of a government to provide for the political and economic support to its citizens.

These findings were conducted by the Asian Barometer Survey and it showed that most Asian countries viewed democracy in terms of good governance and social equality. This in a nut shell means that the citizens expect their governments to offer deliver by improving the substantial life styles. Governments have been addressing the issue of governance through the promotion of sustainable development in the area of education, health, water and judicial matters. This form of openness and transparency engages the community quality service is able to reach every individual in the community. This has been proven to work in the Philippines where the government has been actively involved in monitoring water delivery to its municipalities. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Development Programme Bangkok Regional Hub (UNDP BRH) have been focusing on the citizen inclusion in the implementation of public services.

These efforts are aimed at fostering learning between governmental agencies, civil society organizations and other development partners to improve transparency, public participation and accountability by conducting regular evaluations of the public service through workshops such as the Pakistan’s Citizen Satisfaction Index. Through this mobilization, the citizens are able to avoid instability and repression by airing out their legitimate grievances. Election nonetheless is an effective way of checking the viewpoints of the voters. Lobbyists and interest groups also play role in public agenda because these groups are highly informed with information concerning the issues affecting the employers as well making the laws. It is for this reason that the government uses the strategies sourced from these individuals to convince a population concerning a particular aspect of law or policy.

This is because the government perceives that they are the one closest to the people and as a result, they relay their honest opinions that helps inform the government on what to sell to the citizens. The success of this civil rights movement in the U. S became a repertoire in other democracies and bureaucratic governments such in the Asian region to communicate to the ruling governments. This form of protest was also witnessed during the anti-Iraq war in 2003. It is the role of the government to ensure that every citizen’s safety, privacy and security is provided for and this makes them place some level of trust in their leaders and the government to carry out this task. Consequently, the government is required to provide all the necessary tools to ensure that they perform their responsibility expediently.

This region is now heavily invested in the ideologies of democratic governance with the view of growing its economy and influencing the population through positive public agendas that will strengthen these new democracies. These governments are teaming up with professionals from all works of life to form collaborative approaches of reaching out to its citizens to take civil participation. By focusing on inclusive citizenry and public delivery, theses governments are able engage in a positive public agenda through Public Delivery Workshops. References Bennett, S.  E. doi:10. 1017/s0841820900006081 Denton, R.  E. , & Voth, B. Democracy and the “Social Contract”: Prescription for Freedom and Equality. 0026 Landa, D. , & Duell, D. Social Identity and Electoral Accountability.  American Journal of Political Science, 59(3), 671-689. doi:10. 1093/hepl/9780198708902. 0010 Zhang, S.