Democracy on Trial: Social Movements and Cultural Politics in Post-Authoritarian Taiwan

by Ya-Chung Chuang

Overview

Writing "an ethnography of democracy," Ya-Chung Chuang masterfully describes and analyzes a multifaceted Taiwanese society. Contradicting mainstream research on political cultures, which relies heavily on survey data and statistical analysis, Ya-Chung Chuang produces an anthropologically inspired, contextually rich study using original source materials. He traces a genealogy of pivotal concepts, such as sovereignty, identity, and locality, at the heart of Taiwan's democratic discourse and relates the experience of democracy as "a way of life" from the viewpoints of a variety of subjects, including social movement participants, urban community members, and ethnic activists. His book explores the loaded meaning of democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789629965464
Publisher:	The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Publication date:	09/03/2013
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ya-Chung Chuang has a Ph.D. from Duke University and teaches anthropology in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.

Table of Contents

List of Figures ix

Romanization x

Acknowledgments xi

Reprint Permission xiv

Preface xv

Introduction 1

Part I State and Civil Society

1 Democracy's Dawn: "Quiet Revolution" in a National Crisis 25

2 Democracy in Action: The Making of Social Movement Webs 43

3 Talking Democracy: From Normalized Political Processes to Politicized Everyday Life 71

Part II Identity and Ethnicity

4 Reflexive Democracy: Bentu and Its Discontent 91

5 Democracy as Dream: Ethnicity and the Politics of Recognition 117

Part III Place and Politics

6 (En)gendering Democracy: Shequ and Urban Neighborhood Organizing 143

7 Walking Democracy: Street Life and Local Politics in a Taipei Neighborhood 175

Epilogue: Democracy Unbound 199

Endnotes 209

Bibliography 239

Index 259