A Stable Two-Party System? The Case of Taiwan

Party system matters, which may affect, among other things, the formation of cabinet and the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of government. Taiwan as a democracy is no exception. The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of party system in Taiwan, and to explore the factors that may have contributed to the type of party system that has emerged since democratic transition. It is argued that the multimodal distribution of voters along the national identity issue and the changing electoral systems – from the old single nontransferable vote to the new mixed-member majoritarian system – have shaped Taiwan's party system over the years. The case of Taiwan sheds light on the significance of electoral systems and social cleavages as well as the interaction between the two in underpinning the party configuration in a democracy.