What if We Don't Party? Political Partisanship in Taiwan and Korea in the 1990s

The 1990s witnessed major developments in Korea and Taiwan's continuing democratization. Rather than focus on voters with some level of partisan identification, though, in this paper we take on a "road less traveled" by examining the behavior of independent voters. Specifically, this article addresses the following questions: What are the impacts of independent voters on the emerging party systems in Taiwan and Korea? What are the implications of independent voters on democratic consolidation and, more particularly, the volatility of elections in Taiwan and Korea? Based on a comparative analysis of "independent" voter behavior in these two countries, the paper discusses the implications of their political development and the direction of future research.

Affiliations: 1: Department of Political Science, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76 203-5340, U.S.A.; 2: Computing Center and Department of Political Science, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76 203-5340, U.S.A.