制度脈絡、外部因素與台灣之「national question」的特殊性：一個理論與經驗的反省

本文藉由對台灣個案的思考反省，檢視當今民族主義研究與理論上常見的不足，並嘗試建立一套較為完整且具分析力的理論架構。本文區分出「特定理論」與「一般理論」兩個層次，認為過去對民族主義的討論，在「一般理論」的層次上多半具有五種理論傾向：實質主義、個人主義、根本主義、對社會內部的過份強調、以及歐洲或西方中心主義。針對這五種傾向，本文分別提出相對應的新命題，作為修正，並根據這五個新命題建立一「全球觀點的制度論取向」。此一取向從社會理論當中的「制度論」借鏡，認為 nations/nation-states 必須被當成「制度之組合」來分析，其具體內涵則可歸納出「公民－－領土」與「族群－－文化」兩種類型。再者，有關這兩類制度的分析，必須區分出「國內」與「國際／全球」兩個脈絡層次。據此，我們可以「制度」為經、「脈絡」為緯，得到一個 2╳2 的分析架構。此一架構，不但為我們提供一個清楚而周延的概念地圖，同時在解釋像台灣這樣的案例時，可同時兼顧「內生」與「外發」兩方面的因素，提供新的洞見，俾便未來的民族主義研究，拓展新的方向。

The study of nations and nationalism can be said to be one of the most chaotic fields notorious for theoretical anarchy in the social sciences. Reflecting upon the peculiar case of Taiwan, this paper aims to construct a new framework that is considered theoretically sounder and analytically more powerful. It is found that previous theories and studies concerning nations and nationalism have been characterized by five theoretical tendencies: substantialism, individualism, fundamentalism, societal overemphasis, and Euro- or West-centricism. These theoretical tendencies have not only hampered a full comprehension of nations and nationalism in general, but have also impeded the understanding of Taiwan's nationalist politics in particular. In contrast to each of these tendencies, this article brings up five theoretical theses regarding nations and nationalism, which, in tum, Jay the ground for a new analytical framework characterized as 'an institutionalist approach with a global perspective.' In this approach, nations/nation-states are understood as ensembles of intersecting institutions that can be classified into 'civic-territorial' and 'enthno-cultural' types. Moreover, the analysis of such institutions has to be done at both 'national' and ' international/global' contextual levels. Thus, a 2x2 analytical framework can be constructed, in which 'institutions' and 'contextual levels' constitute the two dimensions. Such an analytical framework can provide a clearer and more comprehensive conceptual map to guide research. In explaining the peculiar case of Taiwan, moreover, it is capable of providing more insights by taking into account both 'intrinsic' and 'extrinsic' causes of Taiwan's nationalist politics. Such insights, in tum, suggest to us a new direction for further research.