Explores the application of constructivist theory to international relations. The text examines the relevance of constructivism for empirical research, focusing on some of the key issues of contemporary international politics: ethnic and national identity; gender; and political economy.

1. Explaining the Taiwan Miracle 2. Taiwan Prior to Japanese Colonization 3. Taiwan Under Japanese Rule 4. Chaotic Interregnum 5. Rehabilitation and Import-Substitution Industrialization, 1950-1959, 6. Export Orientation and Political Quiet, 1960-1973, 7. Industrial Upgrading and the Emergence of a Political Opposition, 1973-1984, 8. State and Society in the Taiwan Miracle