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This thesis aims to bring poststructuralist discourse theory to both International Relations (lR) and the study of national identity in Taiwan. The unification/independence problematique in Taiwan is conceptualised as two responses to the ordering of the modern political world. As such, while identity formation and contestation take place mostly at the domestic level, they nevertheless involve an international dimension, as the sense of Self that any political community assumes only has its meaning in the presence of the Other. To study the dynamics of identity construction, this thesis takes Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory (1985) as the framework, as it provides strong explanatory powers and valuable implications to the worldwide problem of identity and difference, of which the Taiwan case is one example. This thesis takes 'democracy', 'history- culture', and 'economic development' as three case studies. The exercise of democracy has generated a sense of Self amongst Taiwan people, but it also makes possible social relations to be reorganised in a dichotomised way, rendering the relationship between unification and independence one of enmity. In the cultural domain, the belief of China as an ancient, continuous and homogeneous cultural entity, a view first generated in China's encounter with the West in the modem era and then promoted by the nationalist government (the KMT), constitutes 'Chinese/ness' as a major source of cultural representation, and hinders alternative discourse(s). In the economic domain, Taiwan's economic achievements have made 'development' a way of self-labelling and an incontestable quest. This provides the unification discourse an external reason for integrating with China, and constraints the independence one to argue otherwise but to resort to ideas of security and autonomy. Finally, it is argued that the binary logic of unification and independence is an instance of undecidability, which calls for making ethico-political judgements that are always provisional.

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Much of the literature has framed the study of Taiwanese politics in terms of the persistent existence of certain informal institutions like factional politics, patron-clientism, heijin (political corruption), and finally, heidao (gangsters). These institutions are perceived to be more characteristic of a third world country, and inappropriate to Taiwan, given it's advanced economy and democratic system. This thesis looks at the contemporary phenomenon of heidao. Heidao, in the strict sense of the word, are a new class of wealthy and powerful people from the countryside who have accumulated their wealth through dubious means and then run for political office. The thesis relies primarily on ethnographic research and it focuses on the life histories of a few rural politicians who are reputed to be heidao, namely Legislator Yen Ching-piao of Shalu Town, and the Jen brothers from Dajia Town, Taichung County. This thesis borrows the 'big man' or 'man of prowess' model from the traditional political culture of Southeast Asia. It compares the Taiwanese heidao with the Thai chaopo (godfather), rural politicians from Taiwan and Thailand. I argue two things. First, that contemporary anxiety in Taiwan about heidao represents a clash between two incompatible notions of politics and governance. The dominant notion involves contemporary western ideas of politics based on the ideal of good governance, transparency, integrity, and honesty, which predominate in the urban areas. The other involves traditional notions of power and politics based on the ideal of a benign and paternalistic patron which is prevalent in the rural areas. Second, scholarly literature portrays Taiwanese politics as anomalous. This is a result of using idealized categories of politics and governance that are characteristic of a western liberal democracy. The anomaly disappears when we look at the country within the broader context of the traditional political culture of Southeast Asia, Heidao are really Southeast Asian big men.

It is expected that the ICTs can maximise the benefits for improved governance and electronic democracy in the information age. This study explores the impact of e-government upon citizens and demonstrates how this kind of electronic medium affects the quality of democracy in the context of the new democracies. Taiwan's peculiar characteristics, which combine a Confucian context, a new democracy and a leading performance in e-government, offers an interesting example of the conceptual diversity of e-government in itself, especially in relation to the level of democracy. Thus, this study uses the Taiwanese experience of developing, using and understanding e-government to identify the effect of e-governance in the new democracies. It integrates larger theoretical and empirical evidence, drawing upon several disciplines, including political science and public administration, communications studies, education and the sociology of technology. The research methods deployed are: documentary analysis, secondary analysis, content analysis and interview. The data are cross-referred and the analysis is presented in different sections. In this study, four themes are discussed: civil education, the policy initiatives, the public use and the public understanding of e-government. I first indicate that civic education in Taiwan has gradually paid more attention to the mode of participation, but the values supporting democracy have not yet been fully instilled. Secondly, the Taiwanese government has been more inclined to use e-government to reorganise itself than to incorporate more of the public in its operation. Thirdly, democratic participation has not yet extended in the public use of e-government in Taiwan. Fourthly, e-government in Taiwan has a modem format, but lacks political efficacy, since it lacks the mechanisms through which people can affect public policy. I conclude that e-government has been used as a modem means to rework authoritarianism. People suffer from a 'democratic deficit' in their understanding and use of e-government. The effects of e-governance have been constrained by the legacy of authoritarianism and the public's democratic deficit. Therefore, in the new democracies, the prospects of electronic democracy should not be overestimated. E-government may be over-rated as a weapon for consolidating democracy.