Inclusion, Identity, and Environmental Justice in New Democracies: The Politics of Pollution Remediation in Taiwan

Abstract

A transitional polity in the third wave of democratization may adopt many western institutional forms, yet its minority and disadvantaged groups may continue to face greater obstacles in addressing environmental injustice issues than those in more mature democracies. In a recent case in Taiwan, residents in a disadvantaged community were initially unaware of or reluctant to acknowledge the environmental harms that had been inflicted upon them. They were not mobilized until policy entrepreneurs from outside the community began to press the issue on their behalf by gaining their trust and support and by navigating various political and policy institutions, which at the same time were undergoing democratic transformations toward more inclusiveness. The case illustrates the interactions of identity politics and social movement leadership in the context of changing political opportunity structures.