Political Parties in South Korea and Taiwan after Twenty Years of Democratization* (original) (raw)

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What is the role of popular mobilization in the process of democra-tization? Based on a thorough critique of the elite-centric perspective in the literature of democratic transitions, this paper proposes an alternative view. If popular mobilization played a significant role in the initial phase of regime transition, it is likely to have an enduring effect on the development of democracy in the period that follows, because the collective memory of advancing democracy from below shapes citizens' favorable attitudes toward direct civic action and increases their commitment to democracy. A comparison between South Korea and Taiwan's paths toward democracy effectively shows how this dynamic operates. While the Korean democratization movement successfully mobilized a massive wave of protests in response to the opening of political space, such a large scale of popular mobilization was absent in Taiwan. The difference in this distinct feature of the early phase of transition appears to be reflected in the degree of public confidence in democracy in the two countries.

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Social Structure and Party Support in the East Asian Democracies

Journal of East Asian Studies

A stable and effective party system depends on consistent and enduring support from social groups. Using the Lipset-Rokkan paradigm as a point of departure, this article tests the relationship between social structure and party support in four East Asian democracies (Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan) and two Western democracies (Australia and New Zealand) using the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. Using Australia and New Zealand as a reference point, the results show that the four Lipset-Rokkan social cleavages are only loosely related to party support in the four East Asian nations, mainly through center-periphery and urban-rural divisions. The absence of an owner-worker cleavage is explained by the suppression of labor-based parties in these countries. More generally, the results suggest the importance of the socializing experiences associated with the democratic transitions in each of the four newer democracies.

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Towards a consolidated democracy? Informal and formal institutions in Taiwan's political process

Institutionalization plays an important role in democratic consolidation. This paper goes beyond constitutional reforms and takes a closer look at the institutions, both informal and formal, that have shaped and influenced Taiwan's political process since its successful democratic transition. It seeks to elucidate in a systematic way the role major informal networks have played, and in a second step examines their relationship with the formal institutional environment. Political representation in Taiwan is found to have been, to a great extent, based on informal institutions which undermine democracy. The relationship between these informal institutions and the formal institutions has been largely complementary, meaning that formal and informal institutions have reinforced each other. In cases where conflicts existed, the sanctions that the formal institution carried were either toothless, or their enforcement was lax. Seen in this light, Taiwan's process of democratic consolidation was largely stagnating until the changeover of power in May 2000. However, the new administration's "sweeping out black gold-" policies are a step in the right direction and might eventually serve to initiate further institutional reform.

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Political Parties in South Korea and Taiwan after Twenty Years of Democratization* (original) (raw)

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