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The ruling party and the transition to democracy : the case of the Chinese Nationalist Party (The KMT) on Taiwan

University of British Columbia

The Kuomintang (KMT, the Nationalist Party) has been a major agent of Taiwan's transition to democracy. It is rare that a ruling party initiates the transition to democracy from within an authoritarian regime, therefore it is interesting to explore how and why the KMT has played a positive role in Taiwan's transition to democracy. A historical approach is employed to analyze the role of the KMT in Taiwan's transition to democracy and to explain the reasons that led the KMT to play such a role. The thesis demonstrates that socioeconomic, external and other "ecological" factors have had only an indirect impact on Taiwan's transition to democracy. It finds that the KMT made several crucial decisions that started Taiwan down the path to democracy. The KMT's ability to play a positive role is explained by the party's own nature and characteristics. Firstly, the KMT's ideology guided it to play a positive role in Taiwan's gradual transition to democracy, because Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People are fundamentally democratic, although tutelary and pragmatic in terms of the means to achieve the democratic end. Secondly, the KMT was able to play a positive role in Taiwan's transition to democracy because the top leaders of the party generally agreed on the need for change, although they had different opinions about the timing and pace of change. Chiang Ching-kuo and a group of reformers contributed most to the establishment of democratic values and procedures in the KMT party-state. The co-existence of conservative and reformist factions in the party balanced the needs for stability and change, and resulted in a gradual process of transition. Thirdly, the KMT's recruitment and organization helped the party to play a positive role in the transition to democracy. Through Taiwanization and technocratization, the KMT made itself more representative and capable. The KMT has a huge and well-coordinated organization which was used mainly as a tool of social control in the earlier authoritarian period and then as a tool of electoral mobilization in the later period on Taiwan. The adaptability and strength of the KMT contributed to the party's confidence in initiating and leading the transition to democracy on Taiwan.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-03-16

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6099

Political Science

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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