Rising Civil Society in Post-Democratization Taiwan:

• Main Authors: Liu, Ya Cih, 劉雅慈
• Other Authors: Wei, Mei Chuan
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/c8zd7s

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 亞太研究英語碩士學位學程(IMAS) === 104 === This dissertation seeks to examine the state-society relations in Taiwan through analyzing the role of civil society in different stages of Taiwan’s political development with a focus on the impact of the Sunflower Movement in March 2014 on Taiwan’s state-society relations. The Sunflower Movement is viewed by some observers and commentators as a significant sign of a (re-)rising civil society in Taiwan since the process of democratization was completed in the 1990s. Civil society, in the explanations of modernization theory, played a crucial role in Taiwan’s political transition from authoritarianism to democracy. However, civil society, as an important sphere for the contestation and formation of public consciousness, which is essential to democracy, seems to cease to play its democratic role adequately since the country had its first regime change when the major opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (the DPP) took power from the ruling Kuomintang (the KMT) in 2000. Drawing upon civil society theories in relations to the role of civil society in the democratization process and in a democratic, this study aims to pursue the question as to how exactly the Sunflower Movement impact on the state policies and democratic discourse in Taiwan.