Academics exchanged views on ethnicity and nationalism in democratic development during the second day of a Taiwan Thinktank forum yesterday.
The Taipei forum was titled "After the Third Wave," referring to a theory that democratization has occurred in three major waves, the third of which began in the 1970s. The first wave of democratization followed World War I and the second came after World War II.
The term "third wave" of democracy was coined by Harvard University political scientist Samuel Huntington, who argued that the most recent wave began in Southern Europe and spread to Latin America before reaching the former communist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe.
Mark Beissinger, professor of politics at Princeton University, examined the ways in which nationalism and ethnic lines played roles in both undermining and consolidating democratization in 15 former Soviet states.
Beissinger challenged the argument that strong ethnic identities are an enemy of democracy, saying that the role of ethnic nationalism in supporting democratization had been overlooked.
In the former Soviet states, Beissinger said, strong ethnic identities did not drive democratization alone, but ethnicity fueled democratization in combination with other factors.
The developments in this region have shown that strong ethnic identities can form the basis for a mobilizing action toward democracy when ethnic nationalism is directed against foreign occupation rather than against other indigenous ethnicities, Beissinger said.
"Ethnic nationalism is not necessarily incompatible with the democracy, but rather depends on the types of objects against which ethnic groups mobilize," he said.
Stephen Ndegwa, the World Bank's head public sector specialist, discussed the continuing challenges posed by identity politics in almost two decades of shaky democracy in Africa.
As an African, Ndegwa said that he took the problem of ethnic nationalism in Africa as a "given" that must be solved, as it has plagued the continent.
He said that Africa has produced a veritable "laboratory of democratic innovations," especially in dealing with ethnicity.
Ndegwa discussed three strategies to deal with ethnic politics in African countries, highlighting two recent debates in Africa on constitutional reform that focused on the division and restriction of political power.
"The debates relate to the questions echoed broadly within each transition of local determination of critical issues in the public arena, of balancing ethnic interests and of localizing power," he said.
Ndegwa said that some countries were debating their constitutions, an important indication of progress.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
RSS