CfP: Assessment of Tsai Ing-wen’s Second Tenure: Domestic Agenda, Foreign Policy, and Global Implications10.4.2026 {en}

Assessment of Tsai Ing-wen’s Second Tenure:
Domestic Agenda, Foreign Policy, and Global Implications

Sabella Abidde, PhD, and Isabelle Cockel, PhD (Editors)

Before and since the 1947 Constitution, the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan) has never been led by a woman. The first and only woman to do so is Dr. Tsai Ing-wen. Furthermore, as of 2016, it was the second time a member of her party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was presiding over the affairs of the country – the first being President Chen Shui-bian (in office from May 2000 to May 2008).

President Tsai Ing-wen served two consecutive terms: 2016 to 2020 and 2020 to 2024. As of Spring 2026, several books have dissected her domestic agenda and foreign policy during her first tenure in office. One such book was an edited volume entitled „Tsai Ing-wen and Taiwan: An Assessment of the First Administration, 2016-2020 (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026).

This coedited volume is therefore a follow-up to the first. The major aim of this volume is, broadly speaking, identical to the first: to critically assess her campaign promises, domestic agenda, foreign policy, and the implications of her tenure for regional and global politics.

In presiding over the affairs of Taiwan, very few world leaders had been as circumscribed as President Tsai Ing-wen, primarily because of the contested state of Taiwan, the globally adhered to ‚One China‘ policy, the dangers and complexities related to the Taiwan Strait, and the ambiguous nature of US foreign policy toward Taiwan. No matter a leader’s skills, vision, ability, and temperament — male or female — the aforementioned restraints make governance very taxing. Nonetheless,

In modern times, virtually every president, during their second term in office, becomes a lame duck president or Prime Minister (with diminished political power and influence). In addition to diminished power and influence, President Ing-wen has to contend with the major opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), and the posture, noise, and threats emanating from Beijing. Could she have achieved more without the seen, unseen, spoken, and unspoken limitations that Beijing directly and indirectly imposed?

It’s been more than two years since Tsai Ing-wen’s second and final tenure ended. Essentially, enough time has passed for scholars and others to assess her administration and time in office. All aspects of her administration are open to review, viz., domestic policy, foreign policy, global implications, and her legacy. To do this, contributors are advised to be dispassionate and nuanced in their analysis and to take a long-term view of the president and her administration’s challenges and successes.

We invite scholars, public intellectuals, and others to submit abstracts on the topics listed below. Other than the suggested topics, interested contributors are at liberty to suggest other topics if their subject matter falls within the overall thrust of the book and addresses President Tsai Ing-wen’s second administration:

DOMESTIC AGENDA

Policy Toward Indigenous/Native Groups
LGBTQ and Same-sex Marriages
Immigration Policy
Energy Policy
Education
National Defense and National Interest
The Economy

TAIWAN’S FOREIGN POLICY

Cross Strait Relations
US-Taiwan Relations
Taiwan’s Engagement with Latin America/Caribbean
Taiwan’s Economic Engagement with Africa
New Southbound Policy
Taiwan and Her Neighbors (Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia)
Taiwan and the United Nations

Submission Requirements/Due Dates:

Please submit a 300-350-word abstract plus a 150-250-word biography (About the Author) by May 15, 2026.
You will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of your abstract by May 30, 2026.
The first draft of your chapter, 7500-8500 words, is due on September 30, 2026.
The second draft is due on October 30, 2026. Please adhere to the APA Format (sixth edition).
Please send your abstract and related inquiries to me at Sabidde[at]gmail.com, and please cc the coeditor at isabelle.cockel[at]port.ac.uk

The Editors:

Sabella Abidde is a Professor of Political Science at Alabama State University, Montgomery. He is an alumnus of Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota; Minnesota State University Mankato, Minnesota; University of Oklahoma, Norman; and Howard University. He was a 2023 MOFA Taiwan Fellow. He is the editor of Tsai Ing-wen and Taiwan: An Assessment of the First Administration, 2016-2020 (Bloomsbury Academic), the coeditor of US Foreign Policy Toward Taiwan: Ambiguity and Commitment in International Relations (Springer, 2025), and China and Taiwan in Latin America and the Caribbean: History, Power Rivalry, and Regional Implications (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023). Dr. Abidde is a member of the Association of Global South Studies (AGSS); and the American Association for Chinese Studies (AACS).

Isabelle Cockel is Associate Professor in East Asian and Development Studies at the University of Portsmouth. Her research and publications focus on marriage and labor migration in East Asia with reference to sovereignty, citizenship, gender, and political participation. During the coronavirus pandemic, her research and publications particularly focused on health examinations, smartphones, and irregular migrant farm labor. Her interest in gender also takes her to explore the use of women broadcasters to construct an ideological soundscape across the Taiwan Strait.