Description
Book SynopsisDemocracy (Made in Taiwan) argues that post-colonialism and Confucianism met at the historical moment when democratization and liberalization occurred in Taiwan. The familiar political science standards take little note of either Confucianism or postcolonialism. In fact, these standards are unbalanced, wishful, and Washington-centric, and result in a misunderstanding of Taiwan''s performance. The liberal bias blinds international observers to the hybrid characteristics embedded in Taiwan''s postcolonial history. Although this book is not about failing states per se, its criticism of the standards of success alludes to the problematic nature of the mainstream view of failing states. In many aspects, Taiwan is a disguised failure, or even a fake, in the sense that its democratization adopts a populist identity strategy rather than a liberal one. In addition, its foreign policy compliance to hegemonic leadership is characterized by anti-China determination, instead of a realist approach i
Trade ReviewShih is an outstanding scholar. This book will further consolidate this reputation. More specifically, the book speaks directly to hotly contested terrain (both in the realm of Taiwanese politics and the discipline of political science). In it, Shih presses his readers to reconsider what we think we already know about both Taiwanese democratization and democratic theory. In so doing, he proposes a series of challenging questions regarding recent developments on the island (and in the international sphere). This is no small accomplishment, especially as the vast majority of books written about Taiwan fall well short of such a goal. -- Allen Carlson, Cornell University
Chih-yu Shih has established himself as one of the most original thinkers in the field of Chinese politics and foreign policy. In Democracy (Made in Taiwan), Shih sets his sights on democracy in Taiwan today, which he finds to be a Potemkin village, a 'disguised failure.' Western Liberalism, furthermore, is complicit in this deceit. Democracy (Made in Taiwan) is sure to provoke debate among those brave enough to confront Shih’s arguments. -- Peter H. Gries, Institute for U.S.-China Issues, University of Oklahoma
Table of ContentsPart 1 Introduction: Political Theory and Taiwan Part 2 Part I: The Taiwan Success Revisited Chapter 3 Not about Human Rights Chapter 4 Not about Liberalism Part 5 Part II: The "Rational Actor" Backfire Chapter 6 The Loss of the Median Voter Chapter 7 The Loss of an Ally Part 8 Part III: Political Theory in Practice Chapter 9 Back from the Future Chapter 10 The World Timing of Un-Chinese Consciousness Part 11 Part IV: Two Theses on Confucian Democracy Chapter 12 Parenting Personality Chapter 13 Beyond the State-Society Divide Part 14 Conclusion: Political Theory for Democratic Ontology
