Understanding Chinese Politics

The Chinese political system is the subject of much media and popular comment in part because China supports an economy with an apparently inexorable dynamic and impressive record of achievement. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to China's political system, outlining the major features of the Chinese model and highlighting its claims and challenges. It explores the central role of the Chinese Communist Party in the country's politics and the way in which the Party controls most elements of the political system but also interacts with other actors. It offers an analysis of the machinery of government examining both central government institutions but also the centre's relations with the provinces and other elements of local government. A number of themes run through the analysis. One is that an effective political system needs to generate an overall level of compliance or, at the very least, acquiescence to its authority. The book thus highlights the ways in which the Communist Party seeks to secure public support and its own legitimacy. A second theme is that a comparative approach is productive and much is to be gained by considering the Chinese system through the lens of other systems with which it shares characteristics. The book also draws parallels with previous historical periods in China's history. Finally, it addresses the question of what kind of role the PRC will play in global politics as a whole, the implications for the West and the rebalancing of relations between China and its neighbours.