Democracy on Trial: Social Movements and Cultural Politics in Post-Authoritarian Taiwan

Writing an ethnography of democracy, Ya-Chung Chuang masterfully describes and analyzes a multifaceted Taiwanese society. Contradicting mainstream research on political cultures, which relies heavily on survey data and statistical analysis, Ya-Chung Chuang produces an anthropologically inspired, contextually rich study using original source materials. He traces a genealogy of pivotal concepts, such as sovereignty, identity, and locality, at the heart of Taiwan’s democratic discourse and relates the experience of democracy as a way of life from the viewpoints of a variety of subjects, including social movement participants, urban community members, and ethnic activists. His book explores the loaded meaning of democracy.