What if we don't party? Political partisanship in Taiwan and Korea in the 1990s

The 1990s witnessed major developments in Korea and Taiwan's continuing dem ocratization. Rather than focus on voters with some level of partisan ident ification, though, in this paper we take on a "road less traveled" by exami ning the behavior of independent voters. Specifically, this article address es the following questions: What are the impacts of independent voters on t he emerging party systems in Taiwan and Korea? What are the implications of independent voters on democratic consolidation and, more particularly, the volatility of elections in Taiwan and Korea? Based on a comparative analys is of "independent" voter behavior in these two countries, the paper discus ses the implications of their political development and the direction of fu ture research.