Military politics in the transition to democracy: Changing civil-military relations in the Republic of China (Taiwan), 1949-1994

From 1949 and 1994, the Republic of China on Taiwan experienced continual social, economic, and political development. Along with the progressive political changes, civil-military relations in Taiwan also underwent fundamental transformations. Two approaches exist in the literature of civil-military relations for analyzing the changing political role of the military: institutional and systemic. In this study a systemic approach, which views civil-military relations as an integral part of a political system, has been adopted. This study argues that as political development advances--which entails deepening political institutionalization and functional differentiation among political institutions--the political role of the military becomes more restricted. Three patterns of civil-military relations have been identified during the history of the ROC: the militarized model (1924-49), the functional specialization model (1950-87), and the quasi-democratic civilian control model (1987-94).;In Taiwan, the process of transition from authoritarianism to democracy has been completed, but the controversy over national identity and other problems have hampered the progress of democratic consolidation. Similarly, civil-military relations, despite significant changes witnessed in the past four decades, have met difficulties in conforming to a strict democratic model. A democratic model of civil-military relations requires that the military institution be politically neutral and subjected to civilian government control. This study shows that the legacies of past military politics, national identity problems, and corporate interests prevent the military in Taiwan from taking a neutral position in domestic politics. The practices of civilian control also leave much to be desired. Nevertheless, the military certainly is not solely responsible for the shortcomings in civil-military relations. Civilian politicians must bear at least an equal share of responsibility.