Do leaders matter? Chinese politics, leadership transition and the 17th Party Congress

Abstract

The opaque nature of decision making in China has generated considerable interest in the internecine machinations of elite politics. Particularly, but not only, when it comes to issues of leadership transition, considerations of factional formation and conflict come to the fore. This is partly to explain the transition process itself, but also out of concern for how new leaders might change the direction of Chinese policy. This paper suggests that whilst leaders and leadership changes do matter, they matter less than they once did. This is partly a result of the de-ideologicization and increasing diverse nature of elite interests and group formation. But it is also partly a result of the changed nature of China's political economy; in short, there is less desire and less ability for new leaders to impose a clear paradigm shift.

Keywords:

• China
• leadership transition
• factionalism
• 17th Party Congress

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shaun Breslin

*Shaun Breslin is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, UK and Associate Fellow of the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University in Australia. He is also co-editor of The Pacific Review. His latest book, China and the Global Political Economy, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2007. Email: [email protected]