This book shows that Taiwan, unlike other countries, avoided serious economic disruption and social conflict, and arrived at its goal of multi-party competition with little blood shed. Nonetheless, this survey reveals that for those who imagine democracy to be the panacea for every social, economic and political ill, Taiwan's continuing struggles against corruption, isolation and division offer a cautionary lesson. This book is an ideal, one-stop resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students of political science, particuarly those interested in the international politics of China, and the Asia-Pacific. "Rigger provides an excellent description of Taiwan's political history during the postwar era after the Nationalist or Kuomintang (KMT) Party evacuated to the island after losing the civil war on the Chinese mainland to Mao's Communists...The book is insightful, balanced and quite readable...."Politics in Taiwanis to provide by far the most extensive and sophisticated analysis available in English of the politics of local factions in Taiwan. Consequently, the book is almost required reading for anybody who wants a full understanding of democratic politics in Taiwan.." -Cal Clark, "Pacific Afairs Rigger, Shelley