Government and Politics in Taiwan

Written by an experienced teacher and scholar this new textbook introduces the reader to the big questions that concern change and continuity in how politics operates and how Taiwan is governed. Taking a critical approach, Dafydd Fell provides students with the essential background to the history and development of the political system as well as an explanation of the key structures, processes and institutions that have shaped Taiwan over the last few decades.

Topics covered include: the transition to democracy, party politics, cross-strait relations, foreign policy, electoral politics and voting, political economy, national identity and social welfare.

Key features of this text are:

• Suggestions for further reading
• End of chapter study questions
• Discussion points
• Graphs, tables and figures
• A series of case studies highlighting the vibrancy of Taiwanese politics.

Government and Politics in Taiwan is an essential text for any course on Taiwanese politics, Chinese politics and East Asian Politics. It is also important supplementary reading for courses covering the process of democratisation.

Dafydd Fell is the Senior Lecturer in Taiwan Studies at the Centre for Financial and Management Studies and the Department of Political and International Studies of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is also the Deputy Director of the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies and is the coordinator for the European Association of Taiwan Studies. His previous publications include Party Politics in Taiwan (Routledge, 2005), What has Changed? Taiwan’s KMT and DPP Eras in Comparative Perspective (Harrassowitz, 2006) and the four-volume major work Politics of Modern Taiwan (Routledge, 2008). He is also the Series Editor for the new Routledge Research on Taiwan Series.