The Impact of Electoral Environment and Political Institutions on Post-Democratization Party Change in South Korea and Taiwan

This article examines how similar electoral environments and political institutions have influenced post-democratization party change in South Korea and Taiwan. Bipolar party competition, vote-seeking incentives, and a catch-all strategy encouraged by political institutions of the two East Asian democracies not only tip the balance within the party in favor of the party-in-public-office, but also give major parties strong incentives to open the candidate selection process to the wider electorate, thus facilitating party evolution into a “party of the electorate” based on the dominant party-in-publicoffice combined with the empowered party-in-the-electorate. The examination of major South Korean and Taiwanese parties in the 2000s shows that the party-in-public-office has been strengthened, whereas the weak membership organization has been even more marginalized. It is also found that the selectorate for choosing major-party candidates in South Korea and Taiwan has been broadened with the increasing participation of non-member voters, reflecting the efforts of major parties to widen their electoral appeal.