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Stormy Seas: Taiwan's Democracy under the Shadow of China

April 29, 2024

4:45 pm

Goldwin Smith Hall, 64

Speaker: Thunghong Lin, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica. Introduced by Eli Friedman (ILR).

In an era where democratic nations globally face the risk of regression, the question arises: How can a small democratic country survive the political and economic pressures imposed by authoritarian great powers? The concept of "democratic resilience" has recently emerged in political science circles. Lin's new book, "Stormy Seas: Taiwan's Democracy under the Shadow of China in the 21st Century," uses Taiwan as a case study to analyze China's authoritarian influence. This influence is sometimes referred to as "Sharp power," an international relations strategy that impacts Taiwan's election outcomes. In this lecture, Lin explores China's strategies of authoritarian expansion toward Taiwan, including United Front tactics, economic interests, propaganda, and the influence of military intimidation. These strategies interact with three major political cleavages in Taiwan: ethnic and national identity, economic disparities, and generational differences. The dynamics of Taiwan's elections are shaped by the interplay between these strategies and political cleavages.

Lin is a research fellow at the Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, and the former director of the Center for Contemporary China at Tsinghua University (Taiwan). His research interests include social stratification, political sociology, and sociology of disasters. He received the Golden Tripod Award (National Book Award in Taiwan 2012), the Wu Ta-You Memorial Award (National Young Scholar Award in Taiwan 2015), and the Fulbright Scholarship for 2023-24. He is the Stanford-Taiwan Social Science fellow for 2023-24.

Additional Information

Program

Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies

East Asia Program