Dafydd Fell's new book addresses a specific need for a textbook on Taiwanese politics, and if you find yourself with this need, it is an absolute must. Following his Party Politics in Taiwan (Routledge, 2005) and edited collection The Politics of Modern Taiwan (Routledge, 2008), this thorough and engaging text is another substantial contribution to the field of Taiwan studies. For years, instructors of Taiwanese politics classes have had to assign multiple course books made up of narrow and uneven collections, while looking on enviously as library shelves have filled up with an abundance of excellent textbooks on Chinese politics. No more. Fell's text covers all of the salient dimensions of Taiwanese politics with the right amount of detail and with admirable clarity. The coverage is meaty and nuanced enough for graduate students to get their teeth into and sufficiently engaging with case studies and personal reflections to charm and retain the interest of undergraduates. For a textbook, it is highly engaging. Without overdoing it, Fell provides numerous reflections on his own experiences as a student and academic in Taiwan during the past 20 years. You don't often find authors conjuring up images of themselves as ignorant “spotty teenagers” wandering the streets of Taipei, and these personal touches break down the barriers that many textbook authors mistakenly erect in the name of scientific seriousness.
For all that, however, this is a serious book, covering the transition to democracy, party politics, foreign and cross-Strait relations, electoral politics, national identity, social welfare and numerous important but less obvious issues like the role of social movements, the personalization of political competition and overseas independence groups. Organizing the 11 main chapters thematically, Fell avoids the rigid “historical-linear” approach common to many textbooks of this kind. Instead, each chapter opens with a brief discussion of key concepts or theoretical approaches before proceeding with the substance. This balance is important, and reflects Fell's status as a political scientist as well as a teacher in the Taiwan studies programme at SOAS, where, he informs us, most of the chapters have been tried and tested. The latter experience is reflected in several user-friendly features that will benefit both teachers and students. For instance, annotated directions to relevant further reading and discussion points for use in seminars/tutorials and as a student revision aid. For a text that is certainly accessible for undergraduates, it doesn't stint on nuance, and particularly on party politics and political competition; it has enough depth to merit specialists keeping a copy around for reference. The discussion on Taiwan's international status, a perplexing brainteaser for many students, acknowledges numerous contending perspectives without compounding the confusion and is symptomatic of Fell's even-handedness throughout.
If you teach classes on Taiwan's political/economic development or foreign/cross-Strait relations, this book is highly recommended. It is more comprehensive and cohesive than many collections and more contemporary than Denny Roy's Taiwan: A Political History (Cornell, 2003). For classes on politics and government in Taiwan, at undergraduate and graduate level, this book is an essential purchase. The important place of theory alongside the substance make it an appropriate choice for classes delivered in political science and areas studies departments alike. More general Taiwan studies classes would do well to combine this text with Shelly Rigger's Why Taiwan Matters (Rowman and Littlefield, 2011). I have no doubt that no matter how colleagues employ it, this book will be a key, multi-edition text for many years to come.
