Taiwan: Party politics and political polarisation of a young democracy
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
- Venue
- Main Building, SOAS University of London, 10 Thornhaugh St, London WC1H 0XG
- Room
- R301
About this event
This public lecture will discuss Taiwan's shift from a one-party state to a two-party system, with a focus on the dominance of the KMT and DPP, external events, the national identity divide, and challenges faced by smaller parties.
Taiwan's party system has significantly changed since 1949. It was a one-party state until liberalization began in 1987. By 1996, the KMT was the dominant party, with the DPP serving as a competitive opposition party. In 2000, the DPP captured the presidency, but the KMT maintained legislative control until 2008 through the support of allied parties.
Although smaller parties emerged, they struggled to gain significant voter support. From 2008, Taiwan remained a two-party system dominated by the KMT and the DPP. Since 2016, external events and the national identity cleavage further consolidated the dominance of the KMT and DPP.
Smaller parties faced challenges in differentiating themselves and mobilizing voter support because of the restricted issue space. Taiwan's electoral rules and executive design contribute to a two-party system, and while the national identity cleavage has shown some signs of shifting, the imbalance in party finance remains an internal threat to democracy.
Meet the speaker
Professor Alexander Tan
Alexander C. Tan is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury, University Chair Professor of Political Science at the National Chengchi University (Taiwan), Honorary Professor of the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College, Fellow of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies (Dallas, USA), and Founder and Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs.
Alex received his PhD in political science from Texas A&M University, MA Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and AB Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University. Alex writes extensively in the areas of parties & elections, political economy, Taiwan and Asian politics, and international relations of the Asia-Pacific and his recent publication includes a co-edited volume Asia Pacific Small States: The Political Economies of Resilience (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2023).
Alex is editor of Frontiers in Political Economy and editorial board member of international academic journals such as Political Behavior, Asian Survey, Political Science, Politics and Governance, Issues and Studies, Journal of Asian Security & International Affairs, Politicka Misao, Journal of Electoral Studies.
