Search

Sungmin Rho's book, "Atomized Incorporation: Chinese Workers and the Aftermath of China's Rise," offers a new framework for understanding Chinese labor politics. Rho argues that the Chinese government has allowed small groups of workers to protest over economic demands specific to their firms, rather than incorporating workers through political parties or corporatist structures. This process empowers a privileged group of workers who have connections and modest grievances, while leaving out a larger group of marginalized individuals who blame the system itself for their problems. Rho's book provides fresh empirical data on worker demands and actions, and raises questions about the long-term prospects of atomized incorporation in China. [Extracted from the article]

With the advent of the 'age of conspiracism', the harmfulness of conspiratorial narratives and mindsets on individuals' mentalities, on social relations, and on democracy, has been widely researched by political scientists and psychologists. One known negative effect of conspiracy theories is the escalation toward political radicalism. This study goes beyond the exploration of mechanisms underpinning the relationship between conspiracy theory and radicalization to focus on possible approaches to mitigating them. This study sheds light on the role of counter-conspiracy approaches in the process of deradicalization, adopting the case study of anti-China sentiment and racial prejudice amid the Covid-19 pandemic, through conducting an experiment (N = 300). The results suggest that, during critical events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, exposure to countermeasures to conspiracist information can reduce individual acceptance of radicalism. We investigated two methods of countering conspiracy theory, and found that: (1) a content-targeted 'inoculation' approach to countering conspiracy theory can prevent the intensification of radicalization, but does not produce a significant deradicalization effect; and (2) an audience-focused 'disenchantment' method can enable cognitive deradicalization, effectively reducing the perception of competitive victimhood, and of real and symbolic threats. This study is one of the first attempts to address causality between deradicalization and countermeasures to conspiracy theories in the US-China relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wang highlights the critical role of elite social terrain, indicating that the micro-foundation of elite preference went beyond material benefit or power and was endogenous to social preferences. Wang Yuhua's book, I The Rise and Fall of Imperial China i , offers a profound examination of a significant issue in comparative politics: the longevity of dynastic rule in China and its failure to transform into a modern fiscal state. This elite-focused approach greatly expands our understanding of state development, bringing agency into the framework by demonstrating that state development was achieved through policies made by elites. [Extracted from the article]

Over the past twenty years, historians and political scientists have explored extensively how structures, institutions, coalitions and recently also information have affected China's environmental governance. Much less is known about how time consciousness has informed political action. This paper draws on theories of historical times to analyse key party and government documents on forest management published between 1949 and 2021. Two research questions are tackled. How has time been negotiated in programmatic ideas of forest development? How has time-consciousness connected to forest policymaking in different historical periods? The findings demonstrate that environmental policies in China were not only informed by ideological struggles over programmatic ideas and how (i.e., by which governance mode and instruments) to best manage natural resources. The policies were also affected by ideological struggles over temporalities and time horizons. The findings draw attention to an under-researched factor in political processes in China and across societies and political systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even in the decades before it became possible to access archives in mainland China, there have always been a few historians who seamlessly moved between the late Qing, the Republican era, and the People's Republic of China (PRC). However, when it comes to dealing with the Mao era and Maoism in general, Fuller's interpretative pattern, rather than revealing collective erasures, ends up obscuring historical and political complexities. Pierre Fuller's I Modern Erasures i is one of the better examples of historical investigations that span China's long revolutionary trajectory, from the May Fourth era to the Cultural Revolution. [Extracted from the article]

To analyse the processes of development of Marxist philosophical and socio-political doctrine in China in the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries; to systematically reconstruct the peculiarities of the interpretation of its axiomatics by modern Chinese researchers; to determine the main trends, goals and objectives of modernization and Chineseization of Marxism in the People's Republic of China; to reveal the attributive features of the ideological, theoretical, methodological and ideological foundations of those innovative approaches and narratives for the renewal of Marxist philosophy and social studies, which are offered by representatives of the modern scientific community of Chinese philosophers, political scientists, historians and may become paradigmatic in this century. The main research methods were systemic, structural-functional, comparative, discursive, content analysis, and prescriptions of the general scientific principles of Scientism and Historicism. Based on the analysis of the publications of modern Chinese, Ukrainian and Russian researchers, theoretical reconstruction of the specifics of the development of Marxist philosophical and socio-political doctrine in China in the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is proposed; the influence of objective and subjective factors on them is characterized. Among them, the greatest attention was paid to the conceptual reflection of how the needs for the fundamental and large-scale modernization of Chinese society necessitated the revision and updating of the diamat-istmat version of Marxism, which, by the early 1960s, had become conservative, orthodox and scholastic, turned into a paradigm in the scientific environment of Soviet-style states, and into metanarrative in the political system of the People's Republic of China (as well as in the USSR). The author provides a generalized analytical assessment of alternative options for updating the model of Marxist philosophy and the complex of socio-political sciences that are dominant in the People's Republic of China; the reasons and internal logic of their modernization are revealed on the basis of which the permissible and possible directions, prospects, and limits of ideological, theoreticalmethodological and ideological reforming of Marxism in China are determined. An innovative methodological approach to the study of Marxism has been proposed to Ukrainian and foreign professional communities of philosophers and political scientists of politics. Based on a comparative analysis of the classical postulates of Marxist doctrine and its particular interpretation in China, the specific features of paradigmatic Chinese and Chinese Marxism are characterized; by the meanings, goals and objectives of those projects for their modernization that are currently being developed in the People's Republic of China are revealed. The use of the obtained results contributes to the efficiency of further research into the history of development and the specifics of the interpretation of Marxist ideas in China; optimizes the theoretical platform, and expands the methodological and conceptual tools for the scientific, de-ideological reconstruction of the processes of modernization of Marxist doctrine in this country at the beginning of the 21st century; provides an adequate understanding of its structural and functional features, as well as possible prospects and limits of reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic system has yet to be adequately explained by any models. China's export-led industries were initially viewed as a source of cheap labor but its economy has now emerged as a serious competitor to advanced capitalism. However, after decades of market reform, China's state sector, rather than disappearing or being marginalized, has become a leader in strategic sectors and the driver of its investment-led growth. Heterodox political scientists and economists have long argued that China is at best a variant within global capitalism. This paper discusses heterodox theories that position China as part of global capitalism or regard it as a variety of capitalism. It then examines the anomalies of Chinese "capitalism" and suggests that primitive socialist accumulation—operating in conflict with capitalist accumulation—offers a more appropriate theoretical framework for studying China's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been visualized by political scientists as a structural change in the balance of power of the world. The corridor has far-reaching economic and geopolitical impacts on Southwest Asian countries in general and Pakistan in particular. CPEC, being a transnational project, may face challenges in geographic as well as human terrain during its implementation phase. It would involve extra ordinary engineering resources to execute, massive funds to realize, and political acumen to manage social elements of Southwest Asian countries. This paper, therefore, explores China's evolving relationship with the international system to achieve accelerated infrastructure development and boosted socio-economic growth through regional integration and liberal institutionalism. It is a multilateral strategy that will help Pakistan realize its true potential in the economic and strategic domains. It also endeavors to find linkages between China's multilateralism with regional integration under the framework of CPEC based on liberal values of connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1962 war produced the Actual Line of Control, a border, as Gardner points out, based on no particular geographic principle, but nevertheless one central to the Indian nation, even "something to die for" (253). The Frontier Complex: Geopolitics and the Making of the India-China Border, 1842-1962. The Frontier Complex: Geopolitics and the Making of the India-China Border, 1842-1962 by Kyle J. Gardner. [Extracted from the article]

Liberal democracy, in spite of its bad performance in many countries, is still taken to be the final human political establishment in its thinking mode and institutional framework among most political scientists. But some serious challenges are on the rise. The one I introduce here comes from ancient Chinese political tradition and is exemplified by four modern Chinese political scientists, who are all familiar with the doctrine of liberal democracy, but disagree with its thinking mode: the primacy of the politics of liberal democracy. Independently, they all put political primacy on good governing and treat it as the basis of any regime, democratic or not. This paper tries to expound this uniquely critical point on liberal democracy, and reveals its connection with the tradition of ancient China's political thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this monograph, Michael J. Walsh provides an account of nation-state formation, with a primary focus on the People's Republic of China (PRC). Stating the Sacred: Religion, China, and the Formation of the Nation-State. Chapter 2 explores the theme of sacred texts - primarily state constitutions - as one of the pieces of nation-state infrastructure and through which nation-states establish the inviolate. [Extracted from the article]

There have been noteworthy changes in the ways in which the Chinese Communist Party assess, use, and manage its cadres under different historical conditions. Such changes are associated with the varying agendas for ruling China under the administrations headed by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping, respectively. This paper systematically examines pertinent official documents from the past four decades to reveal the role played by ideology in the CCP's cadre selection and management mechanism, as well as the resulting incentives and pressures for the Chinese cadres. Findings show that the reinforcing of political correctness through the finely designed Ideological Responsibility System (yisixingtai zerenzhi) effectively increases the cadres' loyalty to the central authority. However, there are also unintended and possibly negative implications with regard to some of the related changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western political scientists, regarding China as a nation-state like any other, commonly classify it as a 'party-state' and as 'authoritarian'. Yet China's transition to modern statehood differed from that of almost every other postimperial or 'new' nation on the planet. Drawing on new scholarship in the history of empire and of modern China, this essay reflects on certain repercussions of the Sinic world's singular experience of empire, imperial breakdown, and passage to political modernity. What light, we ask, can reexamining China's oddly intact transfiguration--from dynastic empire to people's republic--shed on how the Party has governed since 1949? With a view to tailoring an altered research agenda for political scientists today--one better fitted to grasping what Chinese authorities may mean when they refer to building 'socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era'--we consider, in particular, several techniques of governance associated with empire relating to scale and strategy, to hierarchy and differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This article examines the ways the authoritarian nature of the regime in the People's Republic of China constrains the conduct of political science research. It further seeks to identify ways in which researchers have circumvented authoritarian controls. Methods The article examines existing scholarly literature and curricula pertaining to Chinese politics to identify methodological and technical tendencies in the research field. It then conducts a deeper, theoretical investigation to show how researchers exploit loopholes and blindspots in the authoritarian system to generate novel research. Results The study finds a marked propensity in the study of Chinese politics toward qualitative research. Research on local politics is considered less sensitive and thus is more prevalent than studies of the central government. Government restrictions have forced scholars to imperfect data for empirical support. Conclusion Although it is easier to generate new findings in politically open settings, the authoritarian nature of the Chinese regime does not necessarily hinder advancement in social science. Quantitative research that relies on government-issued data is useful, but remains liable to government restriction. Qualitative and ethnographic research gives the researcher opportunities to bypass restrictions imposed by the regime. These opportunities depend upon the researcher's ability to immerse herself in the relevant communities, find reliable and context-aware collaborators, and develop creative ways of collecting information about state behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Editorial" in the magazine WeltTrends deals with the current global changes and the associated challenges. The acronym "VUCA" is used to describe the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world situation. The Chinese political scientist Wang Yiwei emphasizes the rise of China as a central element of these changes. The role Europe can play in this context is discussed. Furthermore, the new strategy of national security of the Russian Federation and the inability of the German traffic light coalition government to make a realistic assessment of the international balance of power are addressed. The author advocates for dialogue and communication to strengthen strategic trust and emphasizes the importance of mutual respect for peaceful coexistence. [Extracted from the article]

Emerging powers like China, India and Brazil are receiving growing attention as objects in International Relations (IR) discourse. Scholars from these emerging powers are rarely present as subjects in mainstream IR discourse, however. This paper interrogates the conditions for scholars in emerging powers to speak back to the mainstream discipline. It argues, first, that ‘theory speak’ is rare from scholars based in periphery countries perceived to be ‘emerging powers’. Despite increasing efforts to create a ‘home-grown’ theoretical discourse in China, India and Brazil, few articles in mainstream journals present novel theoretical frameworks or arguments framed as non-Western/Southern theory or even as a ‘Chinese school’ or ‘Brazilian concepts’. Second, scholars from emerging powers tend to speak as ‘native informants’ about their own country, not about general aspects of ‘the international’. Third, some scholars even speak as ‘quasi-officials’, that is, they speak for their country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With these additions, this book maintains its place a wonderful starting point for anyone seeking to understand the politics and society of China today. The second edition not only offers valuable analysis of Xi's administration during the past eight years, but also predicts the future of China after 2020 based on current trends. The first part of the book intr oduces Chinese history, starting from imperial China but looking mainly at the modern period, with a focus on providing valuable background information on the historical influences on Chinese politics and society today. [Extracted from the article]

In this article I analyze through in-depth interviews and surveys Chinese intellectuals' opinions on the necessity direction, timing, and method of democratization. I examine how Chinese intellectuals in China's two main cities perceive democracy and what direction the development of democracy is taking in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past two decades have witnessed the unprecedented proliferation of civil-society organizations across China. Yet, contrary to what many political scientists predicted, this proliferation has led neither to the formation of a strong political opposition, nor to any organized anti-systemic social movement. The author of this essay argues that this is due to the unique characteristics of the post-Mao Chinese civil society-including its functional depoliticization, conformity to the ruling regime, supplemental role in service provision, symbiotic relationship with the local authorities, as well as the lack of an engaged intelligentsia who can provide guidance and assume leadership. Combining with the consistent party-state control and the distance between Chinese civil society and the country's burgeoning contentious movements at the grassroots, the inherent weaknesses of contemporary Chinese civil society may have predetermined its limited potential in affecting systematic political change up till today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is an important task for political scientists to study homeowners' rights movements in urban China. Based on extended field work in Beijing residential areas, we have completed the following five articles in this special issue. Compared with the existing literature, our study has three features. First, we employ a sampling survey to gauge the attitudes and behaviors of the ordinary homeowners. Second, we focus on the horizontal linkages among different residential areas, describing their patterns and political implications. Third, we compare and analyze the local innovations of some typical residential areas, exploring multilateral relationship among the state, market and society in transitional China, attempting to discover the transformation mechanisms of community governance and understand the local democratic system with Chinese characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the central school of rural studies as a multidisciplinary current, emerged in the late 1990s in China. It is stated that these rural studies emerged in the 1990s among rural sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists studying at the Center for Chinese Rural Studies at Huazhong Normal University (CCRS). The article also discusses the foundation of the Center for Research on Rural Governance (CRRG) at Huazhong University of Science and Technology where the central China school is now largely based.

Describes a community of Chinese political analysts/American watchers designated to interpret United States foreign policies regarding the People's Republic of China. Theoretical orientation in assessing Chinese international relations with the US; Influence of Sino-US relations on Chinese foreign policies; Views of Chinese analysts on US governance.