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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-toledo12608324202021-08-03T06:07:33Z Kantian Peace Theory and the Taiwan Strait Nie, Jing Political Science Kantian Peace Theory Taiwan Strait cross-Strait relations ROC PRC Taiwan China intergovernmental organizations IGO cross-Strait trade Democracy. <p>The Taiwan Strait is a global hot spot that has the potential to trigger a war between nuclear powers. Over the past 59 years, the political relationship between Taiwan and mainland China has been characterized by hostility and confrontation. Since Ma Ying-jeou won Taiwan’s presidential election in March 2008, however, cross-Strait relations have been improved dramatically. Beijing and Taipei resumed semi-official talks after a nine years suspension. They also launched direct flights and shipping and mail services across the Taiwan Strait, which had not existed since 1949. </p><p> What caused “the surge of peace” in the relationship between the two rivals? According to Kantian peace theory, democracy, economic interdependence, and joint membership in international organizations lead to a reduction of conflict between states. This study applies the Kantian hypotheses to the Taiwan Strait case and examines cross-Strait relations from 1987-2008. I find that cross-Strait trade and investment have made a significant contribution to the alleviation of the levels of tension between Taiwan and mainland China. There is mixed effect of democracy. Taiwan’s high level of democracy has helped maintain the cross-Strait status quo and prevent the outbreak of war; however, it has also been a cause of tension and made unification with the mainland more difficult. Finally, due to the limited number of joint memberships shared by the ROC and PRC, the effect of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) on cross-Strait relations is insignificant. In fact, Taiwan’s pursuit of membership in IGOs and China’s blocking of those efforts have created conflicts between the two sides. </p><p> My analysis demonstrates that Kant’s peace theory is valuable in explaining how economic interdependence has reduced tension across the Taiwan Strait. However, I did not find a positive relation between democracy, joint membership in IGOs and the improvement of the PRC-ROC relations. Therefore, Kantian peace theory’s relevance for the Taiwan Strait conflict is limited.</p> 2009 English text University of Toledo / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1260832420 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1260832420 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Political Science
Kantian Peace Theory
Taiwan Strait
cross-Strait relations
ROC
PRC
Taiwan
China
intergovernmental organizations
IGO
cross-Strait trade
Democracy.
spellingShingle Political Science
Kantian Peace Theory
Taiwan Strait
cross-Strait relations
ROC
PRC
Taiwan
China
intergovernmental organizations
IGO
cross-Strait trade
Democracy.
Nie, Jing
Kantian Peace Theory and the Taiwan Strait
author Nie, Jing
author_facet Nie, Jing
author_sort Nie, Jing
title Kantian Peace Theory and the Taiwan Strait
title_short Kantian Peace Theory and the Taiwan Strait
title_full Kantian Peace Theory and the Taiwan Strait
title_fullStr Kantian Peace Theory and the Taiwan Strait
title_full_unstemmed Kantian Peace Theory and the Taiwan Strait
title_sort kantian peace theory and the taiwan strait
publisher University of Toledo / OhioLINK
publishDate 2009
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1260832420
work_keys_str_mv AT niejing kantianpeacetheoryandthetaiwanstrait
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