Asia-Pacific Journal of Elections and Democracy (APJED) is a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal discussing various aspects of elections and democratization in the region. APJED aims to develop a knowledge ecosystem that is relevant for academic communities, policymakers, and democracy activists.
APJED is managed by the Association for Election and Democracy (Perludem) and Djokosoetono Research Center of University of Indonesia, supported by the Asia-Pacific Regional Support for Election and Political Transition Program (Respect) USAID.
Submissions are open year-round. APJED accepts original articles and book reviews.
Before submitting, please ensure that the manuscript fits the aims and scope of APJED and author guidelines.
All published manuscripts will be in English.
Announcements
Current Issue
Vol. 1 No. 01 (2021): Inaugural Issue (January - June)
The inaugural edition of Asia-Pacific Journal of Elections and Democracy (APJED) chose political financing in Asia-Pacific as its central theme. This theme is relevant because money plays a key role in a democratic political system. Money enables political parties to run their organizations and compete in elections. Political parties also need money to conduct political education, political recruitment, and grasping and articulating voters' interests.
Money, however, often brings negative effects on the quality of a country’s democracy. Political corruption, transparency, and accountability in reporting are some of the main problems of the negative impact of money in politics, contributing to the further decline of democracy. Therefore, it is unsurprising if the agenda of reforming political party financial governance has become one of the most debated discourses in many democracies.
The question, then, how can reforms in political party financial governance be carried out? This question can be answered by looking at the design of political parties' financial arrangements and mapping and analyzing their financial governance problems. The five articles in the inaugural issue of APJED aim to answer those questions from scholars' and practitioners' point-of-view.
The articles provide an overview of the development of democracy in Southeast Asia, particularly regarding its political financing aspects.
We hope that the five articles can further generate discussion among academics, democracy activists and policymakers in Asia-Pacific.
Happy reading!
Editorial note: the inaugural issue of APJED was originally published on 17 February 2021.