The Political Logic of Institutional Choice: Taiwan in Comparative Perspective
Author: Pei-Shan Lee
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
This article seeks a political explanation of institutional origins and changes by examining the case of Taiwan in choosing its form of government during the period of regime transition. It synthesizes two schools of new institutionalism–rational choice and historical institutionalist approaches—to address both context-bound elements in this case and a more generalized political logic involved in the process of democracy building. It spells out two contextually related factors, the preexisting institutionalization of power (or structural legacy) and the mode of transition, in tracing the sources of institutional preferences that major political forces hold, and the political process of bargaining in reaching institutional compromises. This study of Taiwan’s constitutional choice also aims at presenting an integrated framework for a comparative purpose with important analytical dimensions, including structural legacy of the ancien regime, the mode of transition in the institutionalization process, strategic calculations and interactions of competing elites, as well as political manipulation of constitutional ideas.