SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This chapter examines the electoral development of the Green Party Taiwan (GPT) after the Kuomintang (KMT) returned to power in 2008. Green parties (including the GPT) aim to serve as a political tool and spokesperson for a range of social movements whose core issues have been neglected by mainstream parties. The main source of GPT election candidates and activists has also been social movements. It is difficult to gauge the GPT's strength through the standard methods of survey data, as even in 2015 the National Chengchi University (NCCU) Election Study Center and TVBS Poll Center party identification trends still do not include the GPT. The GPT has been the most successful of Taiwan's prophetic parties, steering clear of the identity politics that have so dominated the party scene. The chapter examines the development of small parties by considering their political project, mobilization of resources and political opportunity by using framework proposed by Lucardie (2000).