Assignment task:
The article "In the Name of Mazu: The paper titled The Use of Religion by China to Intervene in Taiwanese Elections" provides a new prospective to the application of religious organizations as soft power tools in international relations. Yu-Hsi Liu, Colin O'Reilly, Chung-Pei Pien and Chien-Yuan Sher try to answer the question on how the Chinese Mazu religious network has been misused in the elections in Taiwan. This paper critiques the topic of the article, thesis statement, methodological approach, assumptions made, suggestions made, and persuasiveness of the article. The main theme for the article can be viewed from the angle of political activism through religious organizations. More to it, it describes the interference of the Chinese government in the Taiwanese elections through the Mazu religious network. Consequently, utilizing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of religious institutions as tools of soft power the authors reveal that there is a manifest research gap. In order to fill this gap in knowledge and generate understanding of soft power in international politics, the study examines the influence of religious forces on election affairs in Taiwan. The article's premise is that the Chinese government operated through Mazu religious network to rig the Taiwanese elections. The rationale for the situation is that, joining religious organizations, China may significantly influence the political acts without becoming an active player. Soft power and religious influence together are defined in the context of this essay by analyzing the statistics of the election and the religious activities. The authors speculate that changes in the election results can be associated with an increase of the Chinese engagement in affairs relating to Mazu. This is an engaging theory which provides a new perspective about the political manipulation of religious networks.
The study also employed both qualitative and quantitative data to validate the points being made. Qualitative data inter alia includes case studies on certain elections in specific countries and interviews that were conducted among the representatives of the Mazu network, while quantitative data has certain correlations between religious influences and elections deduced based on the statistical data comparison. However, when using this method effectiveness, validity and reliability could be a challenge. An element that may be an issue of concern is the difference in assimilation of qualitative data as opposed to quantitative data, plus the difficulty that comes with distinguishing between religious influence and other issues regarding an election. The points highlighted by the tables and figures are well understandable nonetheless, the information provided might require more details to help facilitate the facts so as to pass through better.
Some of the assumptions made by the authors may affect the objectivity of their outcomes in one way or the other. They believe that religious institutions play an enormous part in the change of elections and that is due to China's influence. It is important not to overemphasize the role of the Chinese influence thus missing other potential factors that may lead to changes in election, for instance, local politics or other forms of foreign influence. There is a concern with regard to the choice of data concerning religious impact, which looks like bias in support of the given thesis instead of being impartial. In the context of the recommendations provided in the paper, the importance that the leaders in Taiwan and other democracies should be cautious with religious institutions and foreign interference is discussed. The writers suggest such things as monitoring religious activity overseas, or encouraging the genuineness of publication. I find these as suggestions that can be provided but these strategies may be expansively classified as intelligence sharing and global coalition strategies. It seems that without a more elaborate strategy the reactions to religious soft power would be more efficient.
Altogether, the study offers quite a convincing argument for its position by paying due attention to the role that religion plays in elections. Finally, the very choice of a mixed-methods approach helps enshrine a coherent methodological foundation on which one might begin to comprehend the role of religious institutions in the interactions of soft power. However, it increases a little doubt and shows potential biases and the necessity to turn attention to other factors. All biases can be eliminated, and the coverage of the research should be widened with more different types of cases as a way of improving the credibility of the argument in the study.
The book "In the Name of Mazu: In a broader perspective, the article, "The Tactics of Religious Persuasion: How China Tried to Influence the Taiwanese Elections," Vastly Increases Our Understanding of the Role of Religion and Soft Power in International Politics. On the whole, the paper offers an engaging argument and valuable information; however, it would be nice to analyze the biases and the shortcomings of the method. However, the recommendations are realistic they should be supported to provide a stronger measure to reduce religious influence. Taking all these into consideration, the article can be seen as a rather useful source of knowledge regarding the intersections of politics and religion in terms of soft power.
Could you make this a little shorter?