In the 1990s China embarked on a series of political reforms intended to increase, however modestly, political participation to reduce the abuse of power by local officials. Although there was initial progress, these reforms have largely stalled and, in many cases, gone backward. If there were sufficient incentives to inaugurate reform, why wasn't there enough momentum to continue and deepen them? This book approaches this question by looking at a number of promising reforms, understanding the incentives of officials at different levels, and the way the Chinese Communist Party operates at the local level. The short answer is that the sort of reforms necessary to make local officials more responsible to the citizens they govern cut too deeply into the organizational structure of the party.

In the past decade, China was able to carry out economic reform without political reform, while the Soviet Union attempted the opposite strategy. How did China succeed at economic market reform without changing communist rule? Susan Shirk shows that Chinese communist political institutions are more flexible and less centralized than their Soviet counterparts were. Shirk pioneers a rational choice institutional approach to analyze policy-making in a non-democratic authoritarian country and to explain the history of Chinese market reforms from 1979 to the present. Drawing on extensive interviews with high-level Chinese officials, she pieces together detailed histories of economic reform policy decisions and shows how the political logic of Chinese communist institutions shaped those decisions. Combining theoretical ambition with the flavor of on-the-ground policy-making in Beijing, this book is a major contribution to the study of reform in China and other communist countries. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994. In the past decade, China was able to carry out economic reform without political reform, while the Soviet Union attempted the opposite strategy. How did China succeed at economic market reform without changing communist rule? Susan Shirk shows that Chine

A comprehensive but accessible examination of how elite Chinese politics work covering the period from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping.

This volume is a selection of Chinese political scholar Xianglin Xu’s published works spanning nearly 20 years of research that explore and discuss the socio-economic transition in China under state political reform. Contextualized within the decades following the 80s, the author analyzes patterns observed from empirical studies, and breaks down the underlining reasoning, conditions and functionalities behind the incremental reform policies pushed forward by the Party and government. The collection is broken up into four sections: the first provides a general framework and theoretical / historical introduction to social transition research in the case of China; the second section discusses the underpinning logic behind political reform in China and practical concerns; the third section follows with discussions on reform policy practices within China including application and trajectory; the final section concludes with an analysis of reform within state institutional infrastructure and policy innovation.

The growing disconnect between China's market-oriented economy with its emerging civil society, and the brittle, anacronistic, and authoritarian state has given rise to intense discussion and debate about political reform, not only by Western observers, but also among Chinese intellectuals. While some expect China's political reform to lead to democratization, others have proposed to strengthen the institution of single-party rule and provide it with a solid legal base. This book brings the ongoing debate to life and explores the options for political reform. Offering the perspectives of both Western and Chinese scholars, it presents the controversial argument for building a consultive rule of law regime as an alternative to liberal democracy. It provides several critiques of this thesis, and then tests the thesis through empirical studies on the development of the rule of law in China.

This book is about where to go and what to do in China’s reform. Its comprehensive overview and economic analysis of China’s reform offers a coverage not found in other English language text. It provides an overview of China’s development and reform practice, an economic analysis of China’s market-oriented reform and a brief introduction to the theoretical origin, practices, and defects of the planned economy. In so doing, this book demonstrates that the key to the success of China’s reform lies in drawing reasonable governance boundaries between government and the market and between government and society. It further discusses the basic elements required for modernizing China’s state governance system and conducts an analysis of China’s reform and development in 13 key fields. The analysis is based on three dimensions—theoretical logic, practical knowledge, and a historical perspective. This book proposes three elements of comprehensive state governance—inclusive economic institutions; the state capacity to plan and implement policies and laws; and an inclusive and transparent civil society with democracy, the rule of law, fairness, and justice. Its analysis also features the novel application of mechanism design theory by employing the two core ideas of information and incentives and a new research methodology consisting of “three dimensions and six natures”. This book reviews and grasps China’s reform through a qualitative analysis of economic theories and an empirical analysis of statistics from a historical perspective spanning over 180 years. It is proposed to be an important reference for understanding the past, present, and future of China’s reform and teaching about the potential economic superpower. It can also serve as an essential resource for those who are interested in China's economic reform and development.

The rise of China as a great power is one of the most important developments in the twenty-first century. But despite dramatic economic progress, China’s prospects remain uncertain. In a book sure to provoke debate, Minxin Pei examines the sustainability of the Chinese Communist Party’s reform strategy—pursuing pro-market economic policies under one-party rule. Pei casts doubt on three central explanations for why China’s strategy works: sustained economic development will lead to political liberalization and democratization; gradualist economic transition is a strategy superior to the “shock therapy” prescribed for the former Soviet Union; and a neo-authoritarian developmental state is essential to economic take-off. Pei argues that because the Communist Party must retain significant economic control to ensure its political survival, gradualism will ultimately fail. The lack of democratic reforms in China has led to pervasive corruption and a breakdown in political accountability. What has emerged is a decentralized predatory state in which local party bosses have effectively privatized the state’s authority. Collusive corruption is widespread and governance is deteriorating. Instead of evolving toward a full market economy, China is trapped in partial economic and political reforms. Combining powerful insights with empirical research, China’s Trapped Transition offers a provocative assessment of China’s future as a great power.