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Political Structure and Movement Strategy: Strategic Bipartisanship in Taiwan’s Environmental Movement

Sun, August 17, 12:30 to 1:30pm, TBA

Abstract

This article represents an intervention into the ongoing debate on the concept of “political opportunity structure (POS)” Recently, POS proponents argue for the specification of its causal mechanism, while their critics seek to replace it with a strategy model. I try to reconcile these two insights by looking at how movement activists transform an adverse situation in pursuit of their agenda. Taiwan’s environmentalism demonstrates that activists can simultaneously approach rival political elites to secure their support. Such strategic bipartisanship was made possible because the dissolution of the previously tight movement-party nexus allowed more political room for activists who were leveraging party competition to their own advantage.

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