no title

All statements of fact and expressions of opinion contained in this report are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs or of the project funders. [...] Blue and Green in Taiwan Politics The most important cleavage in Taiwan’s politics is between the pan-Blue and pan-Green camps, in which the KMT and the DPP are the largest political parties, respectively. [...] The main cleavage between the camps has to do with cross-strait relations and national identity—in other words, how Taiwan relates to the PRC.1 While third parties have also been significant political forces throughout the democratic period, this paper will only address the politics and defense policies of the KMT and the DPP. [...] Batto, “Cleavage Structure and the Demise of a Dominant Party: The Role of National Identity in the Fall of the KMT in Taiwan,” Asian Journal of Comparative Politics 4, no. [...] The especially short bench of civilian defense experts in the DPP, along with Taiwan’s lack of active oversight on defense issues in the legislature and nongovernmental defense expertise compared to the United States, also means that Lai would likely keep a significant number of defense and foreign policy personnel from the Tsai administration— another factor for continuity.