| Summary: | This thesis draws upon theories of democratization and nationalism, and focuses
on the dynamics of the relationship between democratization and nationalism in an
ethnically plural society. During a democratic transition in an ethnically plural society, it
is nearly inevitable that groups with different ethnic identities will experience extensive
conflicts. The argument of this thesis is that in Taiwan, because of the long-existing
divergent national identities within the society, the democratic transition that started from
the late 1970s has stimulated and accelerated the rise of Taiwanese nationalism, which
has led to the increasing conflicts between it and the existing Chinese nationalism that the
KMT government has for long upheld as its legitimacy symbol. The thesis is composed
of four main chapters. The first chapter deals with theories of democratization and
nationalism, and the relationship between the two in plural societies. It argues that
democratization in an ethnically plural society will very likely bring a politicization of
ethnicity and increasing ethnic conflicts. The second chapter reviews Taiwan's political
history and analyzes the origins of Taiwanese nationalism. Following this discussion, the
third chapter will highlight the DPP's Taiwanese nationalist agenda and President Lee
Teng-hui's 12-year rule (1988-2000). The fourth chapter will analyze how divisive
Taiwanese society has become after Lee's rule. A statistical analysis of the 2000
Presidential Election will provide strong evidence that in Taiwan, people's national
identity decides their party affiliations, which has made the society intractably politically
divided and very difficult to bridge. In the concluding chapter, how Chen Shui-bian's
first four-year term has done nothing but worsen the existing division will be analyzed.
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