Social Movements In Taiwan S Democratic Transition

Examining the relationships between activists and the changing political environment, this book analyses the trajectories of three major social movements in Taiwan during the country’s democratic transition between 1980 and 2000. In doing so, it explores why the labour and environmental movements became less partisan, while the women’s movement became more so. Providing a comparative discussion of these critical social movements, this book explores key theoretical questions and presents a rich and comprehensive analysis of social activism during this period of Taiwan’s political history. It focuses on causal mechanisms and variation and thus avoids the tautological trap of finding an ‘improving’ political opportunity structure wherever a social movement is flourishing. Drawing on extensive data from over 140 activists’ demographic backgrounds, the discussion also builds upon existing studies of the ‘biographical’ aspects of contention. This study then asks further questions about how certain tactics are chosen, not only how a repertoire of contention comes to have the shape it does. Combining both a theoretical and empirical approach, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Taiwanese politics and society, as well as social movements and democracy more generally.

Democracy on Trial is an attempt to begin to negotiate the problem of writing about and understanding democracy and social movements in Taiwan, and what they can tell us about a place and country that for me is both home and the field, an object of study and yet also an area of hope and engagement. "Democracy on Trial is as impressive for its conceptual sophistication as it is for its ethnographic depth. Chuang’s personal experiences and engagement with the movements he describes and analyzes bring to life the wealth of documentary and ethnographic data. The study should be of interest not just to Taiwan scholars and readers, but also those interested in issues of democracy in China and East Asia, the politics of TaiwanPRC relations, and social movement scholars and activists."y Arif Dirlik, Author of Culture and History in Postrevolutionary China: The Perspective of Global Modernity.

Following a remarkable transition from authoritarian rule to robust democracy, Taiwan has grown into a prosperous but widely unrecognized nation-state for which no uncontested sovereign space exists. Increasingly vigorous assertions of Taiwanese identity expose the fragility of relationships between the United States and other great powers that assume Taiwan will eventually unite with China. Perhaps because of their precarious international position, the Taiwanese have embraced cosmopolitan culture and democratic institutions. The 2014 Sunflower Movement thrust Taiwan’s politics into the global media spotlight, as did the resounding electoral victory of the once-illegal Democratic Progressive Party in 2016. Taiwan in Dynamic Transition provides an up-to-date assessment of contemporary Taiwan, highlighting Taiwan’s emergent nationhood and its significance for world politics. Taiwan’s path has important implications for broader themes and preoccupations in contemporary thought, such as consideration of why political transitions in the aftermath of the Arab Spring have sputtered or failed while Taiwan has evolved into a stable and prosperous democratic society. Taiwan serves as a test case for nation and state building, the formation of national identity, and the emergence of democratic norms in real time.

Wachman, an English teacher in Taipei from 1980 until about 1990, draws on his own perceptions and on interviews with government and business leaders conducted in the early 1990s to explore the "national identity" of a country that was created out of a refugee camp. He also discusses changes in society and government, prospects for democracy, and the impending reintegration with China. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Alternate Civilities is an anthropologist's answer to the argument that China's cultural tradition renders it incapable of achieving an open political system. Robert Weller draws on his knowledge of both China and Taiwan to show how such sweeping claims fail to take account of potential democratic stimuli among local-level associations such as business organizations, religious groups, environmental movements, and women's networks. These groups were pivotal in Taiwan's democratic transition, and they are thriving in the new free space that has opened up in China. They do not promise a clone of Western civil society, but they do show the possibility of an alternate civility.

An examination of the evolution of the democratic two-party system in Taiwan. This work explores the growth of Taiwan's competitive party system in the context of social attitudes, issue-based politics and local factions.