The Politics of Depoliticization: A Narrative Sociological Analysis of Political Events in Taiwan
Date Issued
2010
Date
2010
Author(s)
Chen, Yu-Chun
Abstract
Focusing on narrativized political discourse, this thesis aims at analyzing the emerging “depoliticized” politics in Taiwan since the late twentieth century. Drawing on the theoretical approach of sociology of narrative and method of narrative analysis, this thesis examines the continuity and discontinuity of “depoliticized narratives” (DPNs) and their cultural-political significance and effects in Taiwan in the last four decades. I investigate how and why DPNs have changed over the recent forty years since the 1970s and evaluate them through different stages of historical transformation that parallel the trajectory of democratization in Taiwan. First, I argue that, during the authoritarian period of the 1970s in Taiwan, there are two modes of DPNs. One thematizes “social stability and prosperity” and another, “democracy, rule of law, and anti-violence.” The ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) propagandized these two modes of DPNs to justify its political control and demobilize the support for dissidents and this has had a far-reaching effect on the Taiwanese society. Secondly, in the early 1990s, a period of dramatic political liberalization, two new modes of DPNs developed as a result of the periodic unrest caused by frequent elections and of contentious politics of ethnicity and nationalism. The first new mode denied the existence of the ethnic problem brought about by the “local Taiwanese-Mainlanders” division. The second mode of DPN was dominated by cynicism about the new democracy and electoral politics. The two 1990s DPNs paved the way for the development of most recent DPNs in Taiwan. Since 2000, when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) gained the ruling power in the presidential election, another two modes of DPNs have been looming large in the Taiwanese society. The motif of one of these two modes is to neutralize the demand for “transitional justice” and thus diminish opposition to the political force represented by the KMT. By highlighting the priority of pursuing economic development, another recent popular mode of DPN minimizes the significance of the politics of national identity caused by China’s claim to sovereignty over Taiwan. Built upon previous ones, the most recent DPNs have become more articulated. Old DPNs as symbolic resources ready to be drawn on by political elite and the public have facilitated the formation and prevalence of new ones. In sum, the politics of depoliticization in Taiwan over the recent four decades has resulted in growing cynicism about democracy in general and polarization of political positions, especially those regarding national identity, in particular. The politics of depoliticization has mixed consequences of exacerbating political conflicts and demobilize political participation. Examining the various modes of the DPN, I conclude that the essence of the DPN is to hide the narrator’s particular identity or position by downplaying, if not making invisible, any political import of discourse, action, and policy in the political arena with a view to maximizing his or her interests. The politics of depoliticization, as shown in my analysis of the modes of the DPN, has had an negative effect on the development of democracy and civil society in Taiwan.
Subjects
Taiwanese politics
depoliticization
narrative
sociology of narrative
culture
cultural sociology
democratization
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