Book Talk - “Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation” with Lev Nachman
Schedule
Sat, 20 Dec, 2025 at 07:00 pm
UTC+08:00Location
台北市萬華區艋舺大道110號1樓, Taipei, Taiwan 108028 | Taipei, TP
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Join us for a book talk with political scientist Lev Nachman on his new book, “Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation”!Despite maintaining de facto sovereignty, states like Taiwan find themselves unrecognized in today’s international system because another power claims the state as part of their territory. This fraught status, in turn, significantly affects the domestic politics of these places. Contested Taiwan explores Taiwan’s political landscape after the 2014 Sunflower Movement and brings a fresh perspective to understanding social movement mobilization and political party formation in “contested states.” In these states, political cleavages are defined not by traditional left-right issues but by questions of identity, territory, and what to do about the country that claims them.
Drawing from 150 interviews with Taiwanese activists and politicians, as well as a comparative analysis of Ukraine, Nachman shows that traditional political science theories fall short when explaining the formation of movement parties in such contexts. Instead, I argue that looming existential threats and strained relationships between activists and established pro-independence parties drive social movements into formal political arenas.
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼
Lev Nachman is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Institute of National Development at National Taiwan University. He was previously the Hou Family Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Taiwan Studies at the Harvard Fairbank Center and holds his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on political participation in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Cross-Strait relations, and U.S.-Taiwan relations. His work has been published in both regional and disciplinary journals including Political Science Research Quarterly and forthcoming work in the China Quarterly. Dr. Nachman is also frequently quoted in the New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, the BBC, and the Guardian, and is a Nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council and the National Bureau of Asian Research.
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
December 20, 7 PM
𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲
DAYBREAK 破曉咖啡
Bangka Boulevard, No. 110, 1F
台北市萬華區艋舺大道110號1樓
Suggested Donation: 100 NT
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Where is it happening?
台北市萬華區艋舺大道110號1樓, Taipei, Taiwan 108028, TaiwanEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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