Dr. Ketty W. Chen is the acting Director of the Department of International Affairs of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan. For the past two years, Dr. Chen was visiting scholar at the National Taiwan University. Her research areas include the quality of democracy, civil society and social movements in Taiwan. Born in Taipei, Taiwan and grew up in Plano, Texas, USA, Dr. Chen received her doctoral degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma, specializing in comparative politics, international relations and political philosophy. In the field of comparative politics, Dr. Chen’s research focuses on democratization, Taiwan’s electoral politics and the control methods of authoritarian regimes. In international relation studies, Dr. Chen examines issues relating to regional security in the Asia Pacific and conflict resolution. She also specializes in classical and modern political theories. Prior to her post in Taiwan, Dr. Chen taught courses on American Politics and International Relations as an associated faculty at Collin College in Plano, Texas and US-China relations at Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Dr. Chen also holds two Master’s degrees in political science and international relations from the University of Oklahoma and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and psychology from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She is the author of a popular blog named, “The Participant Observer”, which documents her experience in Taiwan and observations on Taiwan’s social movement and issues in the past two years. Dr. Chen is regularly referenced in publications and media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, the Economist, LA Times, Voice of America, Libération and Le Monde. She participated on Al Jazeera-English as commentator during the 2012 presidential election in Taiwan and appeared during the Sunflower Movement this year.  Dr. Chen’s research papers and articles appeared in publications such as the Diplomat, Taiwan International Studies Quarterly, the Taipei Times and the Chronicle Herald.  She is the author of a number of papers including, “Disciplining Taiwan – The Kuomintang’s Methods of Control during the White Terror Era”, “From Hegemonic Party to Catch-All Party – The Political Transformation of the KMT” and “The End of One-Party Dominance – A Comparative study of Taiwan and Mexico”. Dr. Chen is currently authoring a book on the political resilience of the Kuomintang and book chapters on the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan.