Basic Reading:

1.         Hague, Rod and Martin Harrup (2001). Comparative Government and Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Chapter 3. Authoritarian Rule

2.          Chu, Yun-han, and Lin Jih-wen (2001). “Political Development in 20th-Century Taiwan: State-Building, Regime Transformation and the Construction of National Identity.” China Quarterly, No. 165, pp.102-129.

3.          Rigger, Shelley (1999). Politics in Taiwan: Voting For Democracy. London: Routledge: pp.55-103. part1  part2  part3

4.          Copper, John F. (1997). "The Origins of Conflict across the Taiwan Strait: The Problem of Differences in Perceptions." Journal of Contemporary China 6 (15): pp. 199 - 227. (O)

5.          Roy, Denny (2003). Taiwan: A Political History. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Chapters 3-4 part 1, part 2, part 3

Discussion Questions:

1.          What were Taiwan’s inherited political legacies from Republican China and Japanese rule?

2.          Why did Taiwan’s return to Chinese rule after 1945 go wrong so quickly?

3.          What was the long-term legacy of the period between 1945 and 1949?

4.          How was the KMT able to recover enough to deliver over three decades of political stability?

5.          How did the KMT attempt to mould its version of Chinese nationalism on the island and how successful was this project?

6.          What is meant by soft authoritarianism and what brought about Taiwan’s move away from hard authoritarianism?

7.          How does Taiwan’s experience of authoritarian rule compare with other developing countries?

8.          How did Taiwan handle its external relations under martial law?