Revitalization of a Rural Depopulated Community by Introducing Participatory Democracy System into Each Smallest Unit of Community

Abstract

This study used a questionnaire survey to investigate an attempt to create a participatory democracy in a rural community characterized by its conservationism, exclusivity, and the strong influence of a few powerful residents. Among a total of the 89 smallest units in the community, all residents living within the 14 units in which the movement to achieve a new participatory democracy system took place responded to the questionnaire. Results showed that the 14 units were classified in terms of their attitude toward the movement, that is, active, neutral, or critical. Importantly, the newly introduced system was occupying equivalent status to the traditional authoritarian system in the units that were characterized by their active attitudes while the new system tended to be placed just as a subordinate part of the traditional system in the units that were characterized by their neutral or critical attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved). (journal abstract)