Revolutionary Taiwan: Making Nationhood in a Changing World Order
by Catherine Lila Chou and Mark Harrison
Hardcover ISBN 9781638571957 • Paperback ISBN 9781638573227 • 222pp.
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In the early 1990s, the people of Taiwan gained the right to vote for their executive and legislature. In building a democratic society, they transformed how they saw themselves and their homeland. The outcome of democratization was nothing less than revolutionary, producing a new, de facto nation and people that can be justly called “Taiwanese.”
Yet this revolution remains unfinished and incomplete. In an era of increasing US-China rivalry, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) claims sovereignty over Taiwan and insists that “reunification” is the historic mission of all peoples on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The PRC threatens war with and over the island, inviting a crisis that would engulf the region and beyond.
Common ideas about Taiwan—that it “split with China in 1949” or “sees itself as the true China”—fail to explain why the Taiwanese withstand pressure from the PRC to relinquish their democratic self-governance.
Revolutionary Taiwan: Making Nationhood in a Changing World Order sheds light on this. Each chapter shows how democratization in Taiwan constituted a revolution, changing not just the form of government but also how Taiwanese people conceptualized the island, coming to see it a complete nation unto itself. At the same time, however, Beijing has blocked the “normal” endpoint of this revolution: an open declaration of statehood and welcome into the global community.
Revolutionary Taiwan brings the Taiwan story to a general audience. It will appeal to students and readers interested in international relations, contemporary geopolitics, and East Asian Studies. Informed by years of academic research and life in Taiwan, this book provides an entry point to a remarkable place and people.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“Taiwan is a complex, contradictory society. Chou and Harrison offer us a clearly written, deeply researched history that helps readers understand how Taiwan was revolutionized over the centuries—from settler colonialism, authoritarianism, democracy, and contested sovereignty. Their narrative of Taiwan is moving and powerful. Most importantly, their book centers the perspectives of Taiwanese peoples, and why their voices matter. If you buy only one book on Taiwan’s history, this is it. ” —James Lin, University of Washington
“Catherine Chou and Mark Harrison have written an informative account of contemporary Taiwan nationalism and Taiwan history from the nuanced perspectives of the Taiwanese themselves. The book provides a much-needed corrective to a plethora of publications that continue to see the ‘Taiwan problem’ from the perspectives of ‘two Chinas’ or the Washington-Beijing rivalry. If the emergence of Taiwanese nationalism constitutes a ‘revolution,’ it is a revolution that exposes the fundamental contradiction of our current international system, which as Chou and Harrison point out, ‘holds out the promise of self-determination and sovereignty’ but allows ‘economically and militarily powerful states to disproportionately shape the system in their interests.’” —Dominic Meng-Hsuan Yang, University of Missouri-Columbia
“Revolutionary Taiwan: Making Nationhood in a Changing World Order masterfully renders Taiwan’s complexities tangible and accessible by delving into the lived experiences of its people and the realities of its landscapes. Chou and Harrison offer a profound understanding of Taiwan that is authentically rooted in its unique identity and context. This is the book I recommend for anyone seeking a nuanced explanation of Taiwan’s political situation from a Taiwan-centered perspective.” —Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Green Island
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1: Two Chinas Against a Taiwanese Nation
Chapter 2: Four Ways of Telling Taiwanese History
Chapter 3: “Chinese Taipei”: The Remapping that Explains Taiwan’s Geopolitical Predicament
Chapter 4: Taiwan in the World
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Catherine Lila Chou is Assistant Professor of History at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. For six years prior, she taught at Grinnell College in Iowa, where she was promoted to Associate Professor in 2024. She holds a PhD in early modern European history from Stanford University. Dr. Chou’s work has appeared in Historical Research, Parliamentary History, Journal of British Studies, and Historical Journal.
Mark Harrison is Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Tasmania, Australia. He holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He is co-editor of the Brill Taiwan Studies Series and an Expert Associate of the National Security College of the Australian National University. His work on Taiwan has appeared in the International Journal of Taiwan Studies, Thesis Eleven, in edited volumes such as Re-writing Culture in Taiwan and in other publications.