Can a Sense of Sovereignty Threat Induce Support for Indigenous Identity?

• In Event: Exploring Political Dynamics in Taiwan: Finance, Media, and Democratic Support

Abstract

Many countries with history of colonization and occupation continue to deal with issues regarding indigenous population. How does one push for indigenous identity to stay intact and foster support for indigenous rights among the general public? In this paper we argue that a seemingly unrelated external factor, i.e. sovereignty threat, may help to embrace the indigenous population and push their agenda forward. In particular we present the case of Taiwan as a polity that has increasingly shown support for its indigenous population as it experiences sovereignty threats from China. While the indigenous minority groups have long suffered discrimination with little political clout and salience, interest in their culture and identity has seen an unexpected resurgence among the Taiwanese population. We conduct a novel survey on Taiwan’s representative sample to test whether under the threat condition, Taiwanese may seek an identity distinct from the mainland Chinese and embrace their indigenous roots more. For policy implications we focus on language education and public support for preserving local languages in schools.

Authors

• Christopher Paik, New York University Abu Dhabi

• Greg Chih-Hsin Sheen, Academia Sinica