1990年代是台灣政治轉型的關鍵時刻，這個過程一方面完成了多項重大的政治變革，另一方面卻也逐漸形成資本家與政治結盟的情勢。身處這個劇烈變動時代的知識份子如何看待這樣的政治轉型？形成何種的民主論述，觀察並介入現實？而經過將近二十年的時間，應該如何重新定位1990年代當時批判台灣民主發展的論述？「民粹威權主義」是知識份子對於1990年代民主化過程的代表性批判，本文主要的目的之一，即是對此看法提出反思。本文對民粹威權主義的批判主要從其概念建構、方法論運用以及透過社區總體營造政策的經驗檢視，表明民粹威權主義的概念不足以理解台灣1990年代的民主化過程。

The 1990s was a crucial moment in the political transition of Taiwan. The period not only marked a number of major political reforms, but also the gradual formation of a political alliance between government and capitalism. How did intellectuals in Taiwan view such a political transition during this period of dramatic change? What kind of democratic discourses did they produce? How did they observe and engage with the real social world? Furthermore,after almost two decades, how should we reposition their critiques of Taiwan's democratic development in the 90s?
“Populist Authoritarianism” is one of main discourses which critique the process of democratization during the 1990s in Taiwan.The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical reflection on the discourse of “Populist Authoritarianism” in regard to its conceptual structure and application of methodology, by applying an empirical examination of the Community Building Policy and its effects. We argue that Populist Authoritarianism fails to adequately understand the process of democratization in the 1990s in Taiwan.