China's Governance Model: Flexibility and Durability of Pragmatic Authoritarianism

ISBN-13: 9780415734479 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 364 str.

Hongyi Lai

Opis

Many books on government in China either simply describe the political institutions or else focus, critically, on the weaknesses of the system, such as corruption or the absence of Western-style democracy. This book, on the other hand, takes a more balanced, more positive view. This view is based on a study of China s institutions for coping with critical crises in governance since 1978. It argues that, although the party-state is determined to preserve itself, China's governance model has changed for the better in many respects in recent years. These changes, discussed fully in the book, include better management of leadership succession, better crisis management, improved social welfare, the management of society through treating different social groups differently depending on their potential to rival the party-state, and a variety of limited, intra-party and grassroots democracy. This book applies to the Chinese model the term "pragmatic authoritarianism." It explains the thinking which lies behind China's governance model and the changes to it, and assesses how the governance model is likely to develop. It compares recent developments with changes and fatal threats in China's governance over a long historical period, and concludes that the regime can be expected to survive for the foreseeable future.

"Few topics in Chinese politics are as significant as the nature, state and prospects of the political regime. While the topic had been unduly understudied for a long period of time, a young generation of scholars has emerged on this subject. Among others, the book by Hongyi Lai stands out and provides a comprehensive and penetrating analysis on this topic....I am confident that his book will make a significant contribution to the study of Chinese politics and may well define the debate on China s political development, governance and model for years to come." - Yongnian Zheng, Director, East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore"

Spis treści

Part I - Introduction 1. Understanding China's Model of Governance and Development: Improvement without Democracy 2. Pragmatic Authoritarianism in China Part II - Economic and Social Governance 3. Pro-Growth Authoritarianism: Results and Resentments of Governance 4. Defusing Discontents through Welfare and Aid 5. Differentiated Treatment of Religious Groups: Maintaining Monopoly over a Reviving Society Part III - Political Governance 6. Overhauling Crisis Management: Epidemics and Beyond 7. Smoothening Leadership Succession 8. Intra-Party and Grass-Roots Democracy: How Far Has It Gone? Part IV - Conclusion 9. Durability of the Party-State: The Life Span of Unified Regimes in China 10. The Future of Governance in China: Toward Authoritarian Flexibility and Durability

O autorze

Hongyi Lai is an Associate Professor in the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies and a Senior Fellow of the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham, UK.