Explores the application of constructivist theory to international relations. The text examines the relevance of constructivism for empirical research, focusing on some of the key issues of contemporary international politics: ethnic and national identity; gender; and political economy.

Taiwan’s rapid industrialization during the 1960s and 1970s, combined with the democratic revolution that began with the lifting of martial law in 1987 were of deep historic importance. Over the next decade Taiwan’s "political miracle" matched its earlier "economic miracle" creating a vibrant liberal democracy complete with freedom of speech, association and assembly, rule of law, and competitive and fair multi-party elections. The continuation of these achievements and the new challenges that have surfaced are addressed in rich detail in the chapters of this volume by an international team of experts. One of the biggest such challenges is Mainland China’s economic success, which has added to the complexity of Taiwan’s economic and political policy options. A number of the contributors to this volume consider Taiwan’s response to China’s economic rise and show how Taiwanese companies have strategically taken advantage of the changing economic environment by moving up the value chain of production within Taiwan while also taking the opportunity to invest overseas. With chapters covering a wealth of topics including: Constitutional reform National identity Party politics Taiwan's development model Industrial policy Trade and investment Globalization Sustainable development Taiwan's Democracy will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, Chinese politics and economics, international politics and economics, and development studies.

Papers from a conference held December 1989 at Tufts University discuss a variety of issues connected with Taiwan--political reform and development, political economy, social and environmental issues, external relations, and the future of Taiwan-PRC relations. The time between the conference and publication of these proceedings yielded a substantial introduction and uniform typesetting. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Much has been written about the 'Taiwan miracle'--referring to the extremely successful, widely praised and often emulated economic development of the Republic of China. Less has been written about Taiwan's political development, which in the past dozen or so years has been even more dramatic in many ways. In just three to four decades, the Republic of China's polity has been transformed from an authoritarian, closed system to a democracy. It did this without a contributing colonial experience and while living under the threat of invasion. This book assesses Taiwan's political modernization during a period when political change in Taiwan was remarkable both for its pace and for its impact on Taiwan's polity. During this time Taiwan became a paradigm for success in political modernization. Internal political reform was the most salient part of the modernization process. Elections likewise played an essential role. Finally, an effective foreign policy facilitated the process and vice versa. Students of the process of political development can and should learn much from Taiwan's experiences.

Throughout the twentieth century Taiwan was viewed as a model - whether in terms of a model colony, a model China or a development model. This perception was based on the notion of Taiwan undergoing an economic miracle and political developments. Yet much of Taiwan’s history is unique and may not be readily replicable elsewhere. Written by an impressive line up of contributors from the US, UK, Taiwan, France and Hong Kong, this book analyzes Taiwan’s economic and political achievements, and asks whether it is possible to identify through the experience of a single nation – Taiwan – the makings of a replicable model. This book will appeal to students and scholars of Taiwan, political economy, and Asia-Pacific regional development issues.

This book shows that Taiwan, unlike other countries, avoided serious economic disruption and social conflict, and arrived at its goal of multi-party competition with little blood shed. Nonetheless, this survey reveals that for those who imagine democracy to be the panacea for every social, economic and political ill, Taiwan's continuing struggles against corruption, isolation and division offer a cautionary lesson. This book is an ideal, one-stop resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students of political science, particuarly those interested in the international politics of China, and the Asia-Pacific.

There has been no miracle, says Zhu at least in the sense of divine intervention. He attributes the rapid economic growth in East Asia to decades of hard work by people in the region, though admittedly aided somewhat by favorable international and domestic conditions, sound government policies, and a few far-sighted leaders. He begins by profiling countries in the order they emerged into the world spotlight: Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. Then he compares their economies, concludes with a comprehensive explanation for the overall phenomenon and its internal variations.