Vote Shifting and Democratic Consolidation in East Asian Democracies:

Drawing on survey data from Taiwan and South Korea, this essay examines the electoral sources and democratic implications of vote shifting in these two young East Asian democracies. First, I complement the conventional Asian identity voting literature by demonstrating that vote shifting is a form of rational voting involving critical evaluations of government performance and careful weighing of policy issues. I then extend these findings by showing that determinants of vote shifting also represent critical forces conducive to citizens’ support for democracy. This essay contributes to comparative democratization theory by offering a new vantage point for addressing both the electoral and attitudinal aspects of the democratization process.