Confucianism, Democratization, and Human Rights in Taiwan

Joel S. Fetzer is professor of political science at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. J. Christopher Soper is Distinguished Professor of political science at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

• Chapter 1. Confucianism and Democratization in East AsiaChapter 2. Confucian Values and Elite Support for Liberal Democracy in TaiwanChapter 3. The Effect of Confucian Values on Public Support for Democratization and Human Rights in TaiwanChapter 4. The Treatment of Confucianism in Taiwanese Textbooks Before and After DemocratizationChapter 5. The Role of Confucianism in Taiwanese Legislative Debates over Democratization and Human RightsChapter 6. Toward a Liberal-Democratic Confucianism: Evidence from TaiwanGlossary of Non-English TermsStatistical Appendix

Adding to the debate about the compatibility of Confucianism and democracy, this book focuses upon the role of Confucian values in the democratization of Taiwan. In contrast to the argument that Confucianism is largely conservative and has been used to legitimize political authoritarianism, the authors contend that this relationship is not inherent and is actually evolving, as illustrated by the experiences of Taiwan. Specifically, interviews with Taiwanese political leaders, surveys on mass-level attitudes, themes of public school textbooks, and analyses of legislative debates suggest that this belief system is now transforming itself in a pro-democratic direction. Persuasive as it is, the assertion that Confucianism can be reformulated in a liberal, democratic way (if the ideology is decoupled from the state), at a minimum, implies that some core Confucian principles are fundamentally incompatible with liberal democratic values. Overall, Fetzer and Soper provide an excellent and distinctive theoretical argument for the role of transcendent traditions in democratic politics. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Confucianism, Asian philosophy, tradition and democratization, and Taiwan studies. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections.