In January 2016 Taiwan’s former authoritarian ruler, the KMT, lost control of both the presidency and the legislature. Having led the democratization process in Taiwan during the 1980s, it maintained a winning coalition among big business, the public sector, green collar workers and local factions. Until now.

This book identifies past, present and future trajectories in party politics and state-society relations in Taiwan. Providing a comprehensive examination of public opinion data, it sheds light on significant changes in the composition of political attitudes amongst the electorate. Through theoretical and empirical analyses, this book also demonstrates the emergence of a ‘new’ Taiwanese identity during the transition to democracy and shows how a diffusion of interests in society have led to an opening for niche political organizations. The result, it argues, is a long-term challenge to the ruling parties.

As the first book to evaluate Taiwan’s domestic and international circumstances after Tsai’s election in 2016, this book will be useful for students and scholars of Taiwan Studies and Cross-Strait relations, as well as Asian Politics more generally.