What makes the Doughnut work in Southeast Asian governance and politics?

Background and context 

Doughnut Economics — Kate Raworth's model of a "safe and just space for humanity" bounded by a social foundation and an ecological ceiling — has moved rapidly from economic theory into applied city and national policy over the past decade, with implementations spanning Amsterdam, Brussels, Philadelphia, and a growing network of cities worldwide. Most of that uptake has occurred in relatively centralised, resourced, and civically open municipal systems. Asia's governance terrain looks very different, and a landscape and gap analysis conducted ahead of the planned regional convening concluded that the region's flat uptake of the framework may not necessarily be a knowledge or awareness problem, but rather a structural one. 

Asia is not one governance system, but many. The region spans parliamentary democracies, single-party states, hybrid and military-influenced regimes, a technocratic city-state, and an absolute monarchy — each with a different relationship to participatory planning, fiscal devolution, and civic space. A framework like Doughnut Economics, which presumes a degree of cross-sectoral integration, participatory boundary-setting, and willingness to plan by indicators other than GDP growth, naturally may not travel the same way into each of these systems. Some features of the regional landscape may offer real openings; others are likely to blunt, delay, or hollow out the framework into a reporting exercise with no institutional teeth. 

None of this means that Doughnut Economics is not fit for the region but rather that its uptake and impact is dependent on how it is configured domestically. Ipoh's experience, in which an existing municipal planning mandate and a receptive city council allowed a City Portrait to convert into a binding state blueprint under the 2030 Perak Sejahtera Plan (and subsequently, a non-binding city-wide action plan), is a useful illustration of a governance configuration and an avenue for reflections for other cities in the region. It is not, however, representative of the regional norm, and should be read as one data point among several rather than a template assumed to transfer elsewhere. 

This webinar jointly convened by Sunway Centre for Planetary Health and Doughnut Economics Action Lab is designed as a systems-diagnostic conversation: an honest, comparative look at where in the region's governance and sociopolitical landscape the Doughnut is likely to find institutional purchase, where it would need a substantially adapted entry strategy, and where it may simply not be the right instrument yet. 

Event agenda 

 
Welcome and Framing
Sunway Centre for Planetary Health
Why governance and political economy, not just awareness, can be a real constraint on  Doughnut Economics in different regions
 
Framing Presentation: What the Doughnut Asks of a Governance System
Leonora Grcheva, Cities and Regions Lead Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL)

 
Framing Presentation: The Ipoh Doughnut City Portrait
Dr. Zulqarnain Mohamad, CEO Institut Darul Ridzuan
The story of how Doughnut Economics landed in Ipoh through the state blueprint’s mandate, and ways forward for the Ipoh Doughnut: City Portrait in Action

Moderated Discussion: What makes the Doughnut work?
Panel discussion moderated by Maisarah Faiesall, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health  
Testing the framework against governance and sociopolitical realities in Asia
   
Panelists:
Ristika Putri Istanti, Ecosystem Builder, Lingkar Temu Kabupaten Lestari, Jakarta, Indonesia
Maria Golda Hilario, Director for Urban Development, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, Manila, Philippines
panelist tbc

Audience Q&A   

How to join

You can join the webinar on zoom, by registering on the following link:
https://sunway-edu-my.zoom.us/meeting/register/AdW8PniMQaKc856Afa1Cxg#/registration