Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

H. Michael Erisman

Second Advisor

Samory Rashid

Third Advisor

Michael R. Chambers

Abstract

This thesis tries to explain why the Taiwanese have postponed several critical defense plans for seven years while China's threat toward Taiwan is increasing year by year. Many observers and scholars relate the deadlock over arms procurement in Taiwan to domestic political struggles since the DPP is not the majority party in the Legislative Yuan and opposition parties, such as the Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP), have repeatedly boycotted President Chen Shui-bian's policies. However, I found that domestic politics is insufficient for explaining such a deadlock. Rather, the U.S.China- Taiwan triangular relationship, including the variation of the Sino-U.S. relationship, Taiwanese leaders' perception of the Taiwan-U.S. military relationship, and the economic interdependence among U.S.-China-Taiwan, are the deeper causes responsible for the deadlock over the Taiwanese military buildup.

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