Tsai Ing-wen and Taiwan:Critical Assessment of the First Administration, 2016-2020 Sabella O. Abidde, PhD
This book is envisioned as the first of two edited volumes designed to critically examine the
presidency of Her Excellency Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan). Taiwan has never had a woman at the helm of her national affairs, and this is the second time a member of her party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is presiding over the affairs of the country – the first being President Chen Shui-bian (in office from May 2000 to May 2008).
Countries -- be they a stand-alone sovereign entity or part of a larger sovereign state – usually have an organized, legal, responsive, and effective government consisting of the law-making body (the legislature); the adjudicator of disputes, and the interpreter of the law (the judiciary); and the state organ that applies the law and is entrusted with the day-to-day responsibility of governing the state (the executive). Depending on the constitutional requirements, the executive is usually headed by a prime minister or an executive president. Taiwan’s constitution calls for a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic under a semi-presidential system.
Whereas the majority of Heads of State and Heads of Government have been men, since 1940, there have been some one hundred and thirty-two female Heads of State and/or Heads of Government – notable amongst them are Indira Gandhi (India), Golda Meir (Israel), Isabel Perón (Argentina), Elisabeth Domitien (Central African Republic), Eugenia Charles (Dominica), Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan), Corazon Aquino (Philippines), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil); Park Geun-hye (South Korea), Christine Kangaloo (Trinidad and Tobago), Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand), and Tsai Ing-wen (Republic of China/Taiwan). Beijing’s claim, and the absence of membership in the United Nations (UN) since 1971, make Taiwan a contested state even though it meets all the requirements of and functions as a nation- state. Despite her ambiguous nature, Taiwan has an effective government that is currently headed by a woman and the former Chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai Ing- wen, whose first term was from 2016 to 2020 and is currently serving her second and final term.
Enough time has passed since the end of Tsai’s first term in office for scholars, commentators, and observers to have a clear view of her earlier stewardship. This book project, therefore, aims to critically examine her first term in office vis-a-vis her economic, social, and political agenda and policies and, ultimately, the implications of those agenda and policies on the national interest of Taiwan and its 24 million citizens.
Several questions needed to be asked: (1) What were the promises made, which were kept; (2) what were some of the internal and external challenges her administration faced and was able to resolve; (3) how was her government able to balance the hostilities emanating from the other side of the Taiwan-Strait and the demands and ambiguities of US foreign policy; (4) was her administration in tune with the changing undercurrents of an increasingly shifting society; (5) did her government’s policies benefitted and resulted in the prosperity of the average Taiwanese; and (6) what was and is the current status and stature of Taiwan internationally.
No matter how well-intentioned or brilliantly designed, no single volume can address all viable questions and/or themes. Nonetheless, we invite scholars, public intellectuals, and others to submit abstracts on the topics listed below. Other than the suggested topics, interested contributors are at liberty to suggest and or write on other topics if their subject matter falls within the overall thrust of the book and addresses President Tsai Ing-wen’s first administration:
GETTING TO KNOW TSAI ING-WEN AND TAIWAN
Madame President: A Brief Biography
Economic and Political Conditions in Taiwan, 2000 - 2016
The Ideological Differences Between the KMT and the DPP
Tsai Ing-wen in the Global Arena
TAIWAN’S FOREIGN POLICY
Cross-Strait Relations since 2016
US-Taiwan Relations since 2016
Taiwan’s Engagement with Latin America/Caribbean
New Southbound Policy
Covid-19 and the pandemic
DOMESTIC POLITICS AND POSTURE
LGBTQ plus Same-sex marriage
Immigration
Energy policy
Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
National Defense
ECONOMIC POLICIES AND CONDITIONS
Unemployment and poverty
Industrialization
Infrastructural development
Institutional and political corruption
The agricultural sector
Submission Requirements/Due Date:
Please submit a 300-350-word abstract plus a 150-250-word biography (About the Author) by 20 June 2023.
You will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of your abstract by 30 June 2023.
The first draft of your chapter, 7500-8500 words, is due 30 November 2023. The second draft will be due on 15 January 2024. Please adhere to the APA Format (sixth edition).
Please send your abstract and related inquiries to me at Sabidde@alasu.edu
About the Editor:
Sabella Abidde is a Professor of Political Science and a member of the graduate faculty at
Alabama State University. He is an alumnus of Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota; Minnesota State University Mankato, Minnesota; University of Oklahoma, Norman; and Howard University. He is currently a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Taiwan Fellow and the editor/co-editor of China and Taiwan in Africa: The Struggle for Diplomatic Recognition and Hegemony (Springer, 2022); and Africa-China-Taiwan Relations, 1949–2020 (Lexington Books, 2022). A forthcoming volume is entitled, China and Taiwan in Latin America and the
Caribbean: History, Power Rivalry, and Regional Implications (Palgrave MacMillan, Fall 2023). Dr. Abidde is a member of the African Studies and Research Forum (ASRF); the Association of Global South Studies (AGSS); and the American Association for Chinese Studies (AACS). He is the series editor of Africa-East Asia International Relations (Springer).
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