This seminar features two talks by Professors Chung-Min Tsai and Yen-Pin Su from National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. Professor Tsai will speak on “From Power Politics to Norms: Theoretical Reflections on Taiwan’s Semiconductor Industry and East Asian Security,” followed by Professor Su’s presentation on “Democratic Support and Public Attitudes Toward Transitional Justice Policies in Taiwan.” Together, these talks reassess Taiwan’s evolving role in the East Asian order—both as a high-tech powerhouse central to global geopolitics and as a democratic society grappling with the legacies of its authoritarian past.

Abstracts:

From Power Politics to Norms: Theoretical Reflections on Taiwan’s Semiconductor Industry and East Asian Security
Professor Chung-Min Tsai

To what extent can Taiwan’s “silicon shield” safeguard its security, and how might U.S. high-tech sanctions on China reshape Taiwan’s strategic position? Taiwan has long been a flashpoint in East Asian geopolitics, particularly because of its dominant semiconductor industry. The current regional landscape provides a critical testing ground for IR theory.

From a realist perspective, semiconductors are strategic assets: Taiwan’s dominance in advanced chipmaking enhances its geostrategic value, drawing U.S. security commitments while provoking China’s pursuit of technological self-sufficiency. A liberal view highlights Taiwan’s integration into global supply chains, showing how interdependence fosters cooperation—through export controls, R&D partnerships, and supply-chain alliances with the U.S., Japan, and Europe that reflect institutionalised efforts to manage technological security collectively. Constructivism emphasises identity and norms: Taiwan’s high-tech prowess represents not only material capability but also the normative values of democracy, resilience, and peace, shaping how other states justify support for Taiwan despite its contested sovereignty.

We argue that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is a strategic arena where the competing logics of realism, liberalism, and constructivism converge—placing it at the centre of both East Asia’s balance of power and the evolving norms of global economic governance.

Democratic Support and Public Attitudes Toward Transitional Justice Policies in Taiwan
Professor Yen-Pin Su

Since 2016, Taiwan has established institutions and legal frameworks to pursue transitional justice. While several policy achievements have been made, surprisingly little research has systematically examined how political attitudes shape support for different transitional justice policies. To fill this gap, this study uses survey data to investigate how democratic support influences public attitudes toward transitional justice.

The first empirical finding shows that citizens with higher levels of democratic support tend to favour policies related to truth investigation, prosecution of perpetrators, settlement of ill-gotten party assets, and the removal of authoritarian statues and symbols from currency.

This paper makes two main contributions. First, it adds to the literature on transitional justice by providing robust evidence about public attitudes toward different policy measures. Second, it offers important implications for how governments can pursue the broader goals of transitional justice.

About the Speakers:

Professor Chung-Min Tsai is Professor in the Department of Political Science at National Chengchi University and President of the Taiwanese Political Science Association (2025–2026). He obtained his BA and MA from National Taiwan University and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. At NCCU, he has served as Deputy Director of the Institute of International Relations (IIR, 2018–2020), Chair of the Department of Political Science (2019–2021), and Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences (2021–2023). He was also Editor of the Taiwanese Political Science Review (2020–2024). His research interests include comparative politics, political economy, and East Asian politics, with a focus on China.

Professor Yen-Pin Su is Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at National Chengchi University, Taiwan. His research focuses on party politics, social movements, electoral institutions, democratisation, and human rights politics in Latin America and East Asia. His work has appeared in Comparative Politics, International Political Science Review, European Political Science Review, Party Politics, Latin American Research Review, Latin American Politics and Society, and Representation.

He has conducted field research in Belize (2024), Guatemala (2024), Argentina (2023), Chile (2018), Costa Rica (2016), Panama (2016), Colombia (2015), Peru (2012), and Mexico (2010), interviewing legislators, party officials, and social movement activists for his research on party politics and institutional change. He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh and holds a BA and MA in Political Science from National Taiwan University.