The Taiwan Question: History of an Unfinished Civil War

The Taiwan question is often reduced to a contemporary security dilemma, yet its roots lie in the unfinished Chinese civil war of the 1940s and the frozen confrontation that followed across the Taiwan Strait. This book traces the conflict from the 1920s struggle between the Kuomintang and the Communists, through Japan's wartime occupation, the 1949 retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, and the decades of mutual blockade that turned the strait into a frontline of memory, politics, and militarisation. Drawing on modern history, Cold‑War grand strategy, and archaeological‑style documentary detail—from treaty texts and naval deployments to street‑level life on both sides of the water—it shows how the war never formally ended, even as Taiwan transformed into a democratic, Taiwanese‑identity‑driven society. The focus is not on predicting "war or peace," but on making the long‑drawn‑out civil‑war dynamic readable: how the past shapes today's rhetoric, patrols, and fragile ambiguity that keeps the Indo‑Pacific on edge.