Explaining social policy in Taiwan since 1949: State, politics, and gender

This dissertation examines the effects of democratization on the development of social policy in Taiwan from 1949 to the present. In particular, I analyze the intersections of gender and politics in the formation of state social policy. I divide the history of social welfare policy into three phases: the "authoritarian phase" (1949 to 1970), the "state-building phase" (1971 to 1985), and the "democratization phase" (1986 to the present). I argue that social policy development has been primarily influenced by the autonomous reaction of state leaders to international geopolitics, the democratization of the political system, and sexual politics.;The gender politics of state policy formation are revealed through a case study of the National Health Insurance Bill and the Women's Welfare Law. Three major factors explain the successful passage of the National Health Insurance Bill in 1994: the legacy of the former corporatist state social policy, international trends, and domestic political competition. The defeat of the Women's Welfare Law, on the other hand, was determined by the stability of the paternalist state, and the particular strategies employed by women's organizations which directed their efforts toward disadvantaged women (e.g. single mothers, child prostitutes, and sexual-assault victims), rather than to women in general. These outcomes are consistent with the paternalistic approach to social insurance policy taken by the state since 1949.;An analysis of social welfare policy in Taiwan furthers our understanding of the nature of the welfare state in the "NICs" of East Asia. I demonstrate that the development of social welfare policy in Taiwan does not fit the model of functional capitalism which argues that welfare capitalism is an outcome of economic growth. Nor does it fit the model of social movement theory which views social policy changes as the result of grass-roots initiatives. Instead, I argue that the development of social welfare policy in Taiwan can be best explained by a model that takes into account both state autonomy and the changing role of the polity. Gender relations are also a critical variable in the development of social welfare policy. This gendered polity-centered approach promises to be a useful tool for general analysis of social welfare policy in the East Asian "NICs.".