The Dictator's Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party's Strategy for SurvivalOxford University Press, 2016 M05 16 - 256 pages Many observers predicted the collapse of the Chinese Communist Party following the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, and again following the serial collapse of communist regimes behind the Iron Curtain. Their prediction, however, never proved true. Despite minor setbacks, China has experienced explosive economic growth and relative political stability ever since 1989. In The Dictator's Dilemma, eminent China scholar Bruce Dickson provides a comprehensive explanation for regime's continued survival and prosperity. Dickson contends that the popular media narrative of the party's impending implosion ignores some basic facts. The regime's policies may generate resentment and protest, but the CCP still enjoys a surprisingly high level of popular support. Nor is the party is not cut off from the people it governs. It consults with a wide range of specialists, stakeholders, and members of the general public in a selective yet extensive manner. Further, it tolerates and even encourages a growing and diverse civil society, even while restricting access to it. Today, the majority of Chinese people see the regime as increasingly democratic even though it does not allow political competition and its leaders are not accountable to the electorate. In short, while the Chinese people may prefer change, they prefer that it occurs within the existing political framework. In reaching this conclusion, Dickson draws upon original public opinion surveys, interviews, and published materials to explain why there is so much popular support for the regime. This basic stability is a familiar story to China specialists, but not to those whose knowledge of contemporary China is limited to the popular media. The Dictator's Dilemma, an engaging synthesis of how the CCP rules and its future prospects, will enlighten both audiences, and will be essential for anyone interested in understanding China's increasing importance in world politics. |
From inside the book
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Page 6
... debates of the past and adopted economic modernization as its key task. It no longer described itself as a revolutionary party but instead characterized itself as China's “ruling party” (zhizheng dang 执政党). The shift from being a ...
... debates of the past and adopted economic modernization as its key task. It no longer described itself as a revolutionary party but instead characterized itself as China's “ruling party” (zhizheng dang 执政党). The shift from being a ...
Page 12
... Debate on Party Legitimacy in China: A Mixed Quantitative/Qualitative Analysis,” Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 18, No. 59 (March 2009), pp. 337–356; Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism: StateSociety Relations in China's ...
... Debate on Party Legitimacy in China: A Mixed Quantitative/Qualitative Analysis,” Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 18, No. 59 (March 2009), pp. 337–356; Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism: StateSociety Relations in China's ...
Page 15
... debate whether voting behavior is most influenced by aggregate economic conditions (known as “socio-tropic” factors) or individuals' pocketbook factors. Are election results determined by changes in overall GDP growth or personal ...
... debate whether voting behavior is most influenced by aggregate economic conditions (known as “socio-tropic” factors) or individuals' pocketbook factors. Are election results determined by changes in overall GDP growth or personal ...
Page 17
... Debating Prospects for Change in China The prospects for political change in China have been a constant source of scrutiny and debate in the academic and policy communities. The main point of contention has been whether the regime is ...
... Debating Prospects for Change in China The prospects for political change in China have been a constant source of scrutiny and debate in the academic and policy communities. The main point of contention has been whether the regime is ...
Page 18
... debates about what it needed to do to survive.29 He situated his account in the lessons drawn from the collapse of the Soviet Union and other East European communist states. He showed that the Party exhibited symptoms of both atrophy ...
... debates about what it needed to do to survive.29 He situated his account in the lessons drawn from the collapse of the Soviet Union and other East European communist states. He showed that the Party exhibited symptoms of both atrophy ...
Contents
1 | |
2 The Heavy Hand of the State | 31 |
3 Mass Line for Modern Times | 96 |
4 Serving the People | 164 |
5 Generating Support | 214 |
6 Defining Democracy | 262 |
7 Will the Party Survive? | 301 |
Appendices | 323 |
Bibliography | 327 |
Index | 341 |
Other editions - View all
The Dictator's Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party's Strategy for Survival Bruce Dickson Limited preview - 2016 |
The Dictator's Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party's Strategy for Survival Bruce J. Dickson No preview available - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed January 27 authoritarian authoritarian regimes Beijing Cambridge University Press campaign CCP’s censorship central challenge China China New York China’s leaders Chinese government Chinese political Chongqing cities civil society civil society groups Communist Confucian Contemporary China corruption countries critical Cultural Revolution Dalai Lama debate democracy in China democratic Deng Xiaoping economic growth economic reforms elections elites focus group foreign freedoms Fuping goals government officials government’s Guangzhou healthcare Hu Jintao hukou improve income institutions Internet legitimacy less level of democracy levels of regime Li Yapeng Maoist mass line ment migrants NGOs one-child policy organizations participants Party and government Party members Party’s survival strategy people’s congress percent political reforms Political Support Survey political system popular support promoting protests public opinion regime change regime support repression respondents social spending state’s Tibet Tibetans tion urban Uyghurs Xi Jinping Xinjiang