This book attempts to explain why political reforms in China lag behind the country’s remarkable socioeconomic transformation which has been underway since reform and opening up. Despite consistent scholarly attention both in China and abroad, there appears to be no easy answer to the above conundrum.
The author, an excellent political scientist now with the School of Political Science at Waseda University, analyses the dynamics of China’s political system not only through the lens of Western political research approaches, but also in the context of China’s unique historical and cultural experience. After receiving formal training in Orthodox Marxism political theory and history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at Beijing University, Dr Tang moved to Japan where he studied Western Political Theory. In his recent monograph, the author poses a question of why, despite all the rapid social and economic changes, the CCP has maintained its monopoly on political power. Furthermore, considering the bigger picture, the author seeks to understand the reality of China’s long and winding road to democracy.
On the whole, the author argues in favor of analyzing Contemporary Chinese Politics under the framework of Western theories of democracy, with particular focus on Huntington’s model of the third wave of democratization.Footnote1 Simultaneously, Dr Tang emphasizes the necessity for studying the “preconditions” for China’s democratization. First, unlike traditional theories of democratization (which distinguish between two stages of “transition” and “consolidation”), the author proposes to add a new “pre-transition” stage which he labels “a foundation-building stage for democratization”, thus emphasizing gradual changes in the process of democratization (page 17). Second, the author considers the effectiveness of China’s “authoritarian path of modernization”, arguing that it lays the foundation for subsequent democratic soft-landing and democratic consolidation (p. 17). Third, the author sets out to explore the phenomenon of “authoritarian transmutation”, the growth of civil society and its implications for the Chinese democracy movement (p. 18).
The book consists of nine chapters (including the Introduction and the Conclusion). In Part I (Chapters 1 and 2), the author discusses China’s political institutions as a means of modernization. The focus here is on the relationship between the one-party system and China’s authoritarian developmentalism. The author analyses the CCP’s control over the military, state agencies, and social actors, arguing that the substitution of Mao’s era dogmatic socialism with pragmatism led to a series of legislative, administrative, and judiciary reforms, which, in turn, resulted in an increase in transparency and citizen participation.
Part II (Chapters 3, 4, and 5) discusses the Chinese government’s strategy on economic, political, and social reforms. With regard to economic development strategy, the author discusses (1) the circumstances under which economic development became top priority, (2) social tensions and social conflicts associated with economic development, and (3) modifications in economic development arrangements.
Chapter 4 focuses on political reforms. The author perceives China’s political reforms as an interplay of “political leadership, specific reform programs, and reform outcomes” (p. 123). Further, the author explains how the Chinese government promotes a “Chinese-style democracy” (an approach based on cultural relativism), concluding that “ongoing economic reform, government reform, limited adoption of democratic mechanisms in the policy process, and the bottom-up demand for democratization may well lead to a spiral process whereby the space for democratization will gradually enlarge” (p. 151).
Chapter 5 provides an empirical study of media reform and information transparency under the one-party system. During the reform and opening up, the process of media commercialization took place, while the growth of the Internet and international media have further challenged the CCP’s domination. In this chapter, the author analyses how the Chinese government responds to the above challenges and how it tries to strike a balance between freedom and control of the media.
Part III (Chapters 6 and 7) discusses the rise of the middle class and development of civil society in China, with particular focus on China’s nascent NGOs. In Chapter 7, the author distinguishes between “high-tide” and “low-tide” democracy movements, arguing that the recent rise of the rights – protection movement (minjian weiquan yundong 民间维权运动) in China constitutes an example of the “low-tide” period democracy movements.
In Conclusion, the author reiterates that China’s authoritarian developmentalism – given its achievements in gradual expansion of rights and freedoms – can be perceived as a “foundation-building” stage for a democratic soft landing and democratic consolidation.
Overall, Dr Tang’s book is a valuable scholarly contribution to the current debate on China’s democratization. More specifically, three major accomplishments stand out. First, the book offers a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of China’s political transformation, fully utilizing available data. Fully aware of the distinctive characteristics of the Chinese political system, the author examines internal and external factors affecting transformations of political structures, offering a rich and nuanced picture of Chinese political system.
Second, although the process of democratization in China is analyzed from the vantage point of Western Political Theory (especially, regime transition theory), the author gives a full consideration to China’s unique political culture and the country’s historical experience.
Third, the book analyses in detail a series of institutional reforms of administrative and judicial systems. Those reforms clearly constitute a prerequisite for transition to democracy. In addition, from the vantage point of civil society, the author discusses the changes brought about by new social actors, such as China’s middle class and/or NGOs, concluding that the risk-averse China’s middle class is unlikely to support radical democratization.
Dr Tang’s book focuses on the Hu–Wen administration (2002–2012) and follows broadly the Western democratic theory way of reasoning, with its emphasis on the correlations between (1) economic growth and social structural changes, (2) political reforms and the expansion of freedom, and (3) the ability to govern and the political legitimacy. Further, this book shows the author’s ambition to construct an effective model to analyze the process of democratization in China. But in the Xi Jinping era, the process of democratization seems to be in retreat (vide restriction on citizen political participation, suppression of the freedom of press, etc.). Thus, in order to make the above theoretical model operational, the following research topics need to be addressed: (1) how to assess Chinese politics under Xi Jinping, and (2) how to understand China’s political transformation (including the Xi Jinping administration) in a long-term perspective.
Notes
1 Huntington, The Third Wave.
Bibliography
- Huntington, S. P. The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.