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As a top 20 global economy and tech powerhouse, a liberal democracy on the frontline of autocratic pressure and a pivotal component in the free and open Indo-Pacific, the future security of Taiwan has enormous ramifications for today’s global order.
Jonathan Sullivan and Lev Nachman consider Taiwan’s complex and multi-layered history and the many dimensions it holds in international politics. They show that an appreciation of its critical role in geopolitics is more than just the crude dichotomies of “democracy vs authoritarianism” or “independence vs unification”. Its history and future are intimately tied to wider questions of decolonialism, national identity, economic interdependence, multiculturalism and modern values – all set against an ever-present security threat.
To introduce Taiwan to as broad an audience as possible (and) to declare that concern about the “Taiwan issue” should be informed by a clear understanding of the place itself and the people who call it home - this is the spirit that animates Jonathan Sullivan and Lev Nachman’s recently published 'Taiwan: A Contested Democracy Under Threat'... as is still all too rare in global discourse about Taiwan, the authors' concern is for the people of Taiwan and their long-standing aspirations for self-determination... they convey a sense of open-endedness that contrasts with the narratives of inevitable annexation or permanent purgatory through which so many readers will have encountered Taiwan before.
1. Why Taiwan matters
2. Taiwan’s many histories
3. Taiwan and the ROC
4. Decided by the Taiwanese people
5. One China, multiple considerations
6. Sacred and inviolable
7. The most dangerous place in the world?
8. The politics of cross-Strait economics
9. Who cares about Taiwan?
10. Conclusion