§16§This book unravels Taiwan's anomalous place in the international community. While it is for all intents and purposes treated as a sovereign state by most members of the international community, it is recognized by only twenty-three of them. The book explains how Taiwan's handling of its foreign relations is affected by the yearning of its people to express their own sense of national identity and to see Taiwan being accepted by the international community as a normal state. The book further examines how Taiwan's diplomatic isolation has caused it to focus on developing soft power based on its democratic credentials and economic vibrancy, and how its government under President Chen Shui-bian nevertheless failed to project soft power effectively.§ In addition to surveying Taiwan's relations with the international community, the book examines Taiwan's relations with the United States, Japan, the European Union, South East Asia, and its remaining twenty-three diplomatic allies, and §16§ discusses how Taiwan can manage its foreign policy more effectively. §04§Contents: Steve Tsang: Taiwan as a Member of the International Community - Steven M. Goldstein: Soft Power as a Foreign Policy Tool for Taiwan - Chia-Lung Lin: The Importance of China and Identity Politics in Taiwan's Diplomacy - Dennis Hickey: The USA's Continuing Commitment to Taiwan - Gregory W. Noble: Post-colonial Sentiments and Security Calculations: Ties with Japan - Masako Ikegami: The European Union's Progressive Foreign Policy and Role in Preventing Cross-Strait Conflict - Elizabeth Freund Larus: Soft Power versus Hard Cash: Retaining Democratic Allies - Wen-Cheng Lin: The Limits of Democratic Appeal and Economic Leverages: Relations with ASEAN Countries - Steve Tsang: The Long-term Prospect for Taiwan's Foreign Relations. §02§The Editor: Steve Tsang is Louis Cha Fellow and University Reader in Politics at St Antony's College, Oxford. He is also Director of the Taiwan Studies Programme and the Pluscarden Programme for the Study of Global Terrorism and Intelligence and has previously served as Director of the Asian Studies Centre. He is the author of five books and the editor or co-editor of eight others.
