Political clientelism and professional baseball in Taiwan: The merger between the two leagues in 2003

Abstract

This article examines the clientelistic relations which underpinned the activities of Taiwan’s society in the field of the professional baseball system. It highlights the significance of political clientelism as a key characteristic of the strategic environment which provides political and business groups and individuals space to pursue their interests. The article concludes that the continued existence of political clientelism, which has survived for decades, is unlikely to terminate, but rather emerge in new forms of social regulation, fostered and/or constrained by the social and economic structures of Taiwan’s society, where sport is inevitably subsumed.