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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Sunflower Movement Of 2014: How Commitment To Democratization Drives Activism In Taiwan, Katherine Ann Wagner Dec 2022

The Sunflower Movement Of 2014: How Commitment To Democratization Drives Activism In Taiwan, Katherine Ann Wagner

Washington Semester Program

Using the Sunflower Movement of 2014 as a case study, this research paper will seek to answer the question: “what is the primary motivator for political activism in Taiwan in the 21st century?” This paper draws on existing research, historical events, and interviews to examine 1) what causes people to mobilize a social movement or a protest, and 2) how attachment to democratic values is an important explanation for the onset of activism. The approach this paper takes is that ongoing commitment to democratization is the primary driver of activism, and that this particular movement is the latest iteration in …


The United States And Its Coercive Democratization Attempts In Japan And Iraq, Noah Shepardson May 2021

The United States And Its Coercive Democratization Attempts In Japan And Iraq, Noah Shepardson

College Honors Program

The United States engaged in coercive democratization (bringing democracy to a country via coercive measures such as occupation) endeavors in both Japan and Iraq, achieving drastically different results. The democratization of Japan is typically regarded as the gold standard of coercive democratization due to Japan’s rapid social and economic development following the United States’ occupation of the country in the years after World War II. The United States’ democratization effort in Iraq, on the other hand, has failed to create such prosperous conditions and has arguably made Iraq more unstable. This thesis seeks to identify why coercive democratization worked in …