Civility and Civil Society and Their Relationship to Democratisation in Taiwan: A Brief Historical Examination (1949–2008)

This article examines the development of civil society and its relationship to democratisation in Taiwan. Civil society, through collective activities organised by civil groups, has been presumed to play a critical role in protecting citizens from the state’s overextended interference in people’s lives, which in turn safeguards their civil rights. This article proposes, however, that in Taiwan’s case, before citizens were allowed to organise civil associations, some intellectuals had already devoted themselves to the pursuit of democracy through their individual activities. Such activities transformed a political constraint into an opportunity structure, allowing civil society and democratisation to develop.