Suchergebnisse

In 2023, the Philippines, led by Marcos Jr., confronted a pivotal period marked by intricate diplomatic maneuvers, economic recalibrations, governance reforms, and persistent human rights concerns. The return of the Marcos political dynasty is a significant change in the political landscape, while economic challenges persist despite mixed reports on growth. With a commitment to an independent foreign policy, the Philippines faces a delicate balancing act between the United States and China in a world characterized by shifting power dynamics and strategic complexities.

As long as China considers Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory, China will always be the primary security threat to Taiwan. The modernization of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) over the last two decades is certainly a threat to Taiwan's security. Yet, cross-Straits relation since 2008 has been relatively peaceful and less confrontational. In this article, I suggest that while Taiwan's military establishment has warned of the dangers and threats of China's increasingly modernized military capabilities, the dynamics of the Taiwanese domestic politics as well as the burgeoning economic and trade ties between China and Taiwan have jointly served to shift Taiwan's focus from the military to the political and economic aspect of its security. Resulting from this shift away from the military dimension of cross-Straits relation, then, China–Taiwan relationship while contentious has been decidedly less confrontational and more predictable.

The changes to the developmental state resulting from Taiwan's political liberalization and democratization have created a complex political-economic decision-making landscape that has affected the process of financial reforms. In this article, the author examines the impact that the changes in the nature of the Taiwanese state, institutions, and the increase in the number of important political actors have on financial liberalization and reforms that have been undertaken thus far, providing a theoretical framework to explain how institutional changes, the interactions of political actors, and changes in incentives in the political system can help one understand the politics of financial reform. Using this theoretical framework, the author examines the application of the theory to the Taiwan case in depth. (Asian Aff/GIGA)