%0 Journal Article
%T The Impact of Electoral System Reform on Taiwan¡¯s Local Factions
%A Christian G£¿bel
%J Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
%D 2012
%I German Institute of Global and Area Studies, (GIGA)
%X In 2004, the single non-transferable vote (SNTV) was abolished in Taiwan. The SNTV had long been seen as a major factor in the sustenance of county- and township-level clientelist networks (¡°local factions¡±). It was also associated with phenomena such as extremism, candidate-centred politics, vote-buying, clientelism and organized crime involvement in politics. More recent scholarship, however, has led to doubts that a single formal institution like an electoral system could have such a powerful influence on electoral mobilization. This article puts these positions to an initial test. It examines the impact of the electoral reform on the mobilization capacity of a local faction in a rural county notorious for its factionalism. By illuminating its intricate mobilization structures, it provides support for the second position: These structures are too resilient to be affected by even a radical electoral reform.
%K Political science
%K political economy
%K Taiwan
%K factions
%K clientelism
%K electoral system reform
%K electoral mobilization
%K rural Taiwan
%K 300
%K 320
%K Taiwan
%K Contemporary
%U http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jcca/article/view/534