The Taiwan Independence Movement In and Out of Power

This book is a study of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Taiwan Independence Movement (TIM) and electoral politics in Taiwan during 2000–2012. It consists of two parts: the first part proposes a movement government framework to understand the fluctuating popular support for the DPP government during 2000–2008 when it was in power, and the second part includes a series of studies on the DPP's quick but limited revival during 2008–2012 when it was out of power. For the DPP in and out of power, its strategic relations with the TIM have either promoted or constrained popular support for the DPP under different circumstances. This book reviews the history of the TIM since 1945, its relations with the DPP since 1986, the DPP's strategies in dealing with the TIM, and explains how these strategies have significantly affected the size and composition of the DPP's support base since 2000 by analyzing rich survey data collected during 1996–2013. Theoretically, this book challenges the traditional dichotomous and overly structuralist understanding of state-movement relations; empirically, it provides both qualitative and quantitative analysis of Taiwan's major political and social events since 2000, such as presidential and legislative elections, and rise of Taiwanese nationalism.