Ferran Pérez Mena

Lessons From Taiwan on the Fight Against the Coronavirus: Between Politics and Collective Experience

How did Taiwan achieve its successes in fighting the COVID-19 coronavirus? Taiwan's strategy in its response to the coronavirus has been informed by three key inter-societal and historic elements: Taiwan's state formation during the 20th century, the political culture among elites that stems from the former process, and the collective experience of the Taiwanese population in dealing with the forces of nature...

Similarities And Differences Between Catalonia And Taiwan

During past few years, the conflict between China and Taiwan has resonated more frequently than one would think in Catalan media, which has historically been ignorant of anything that occurs in Asia—except with regards to some news items about China. It is important to note that the attention given by Catalan media to this conflict is in part because of the more or less accurate perception that recent political developments related to the disputed international status of Taiwan are similar to what Catalonia has experienced in the past decade. The aim of this article is therefore to analyze the similarities and differences between the political projects of "independence" in Taiwan and Catalonia...
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Ferran Pérez Mena

Ferran Pérez Mena graduated from the Autonomous University of Barcelona with a degree in East Asian Studies. He then lived three years in Taiwan, where he obtained his master's degree in Asia Pacific studies from National Chengchi University. He is currently a doctoral student in international relations, security, and global governance at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. His main area of research focuses on the production of international relations theory in East Asia and East Asian social movements.