CHINA'S POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT
Chinese and American Perspectives
KENNETH LIEBERTHAL
CHENG LI
YU KEPING
editors
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS
Washington, D.C.
Copyright2014
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
China's political development : Chinese and American perspectives / Kenneth Lieberthal, Cheng Li, and Yu Keping, editors.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8157-2535-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. ChinaPolitics and government21st century. I. Lieberthal, Kenneth, editor of compilation. II. Li, Cheng, 1956 , editor of compilation. III. Keping, Yu, editor of compilation.
JQ1510.C489568 2014
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed on acid-free paper
Typeset in Adobe Garamond
Composition by Cynthia Stock
Silver Spring, Maryland
Acknowledgments
This volume reflects an unusually wide-ranging collaborative effort, and we are deeply grateful to the many people whose support made it possible and whose determination and understanding have resulted in both Chinese and English editions. We want to express our special appreciation to the following.
The Chinese and American authors of the individual chapters that make up this volume Chinese and American scholars first wrote their pieces for a conference in Beijing in October 2010, then did the editing necessary for publication of the volume in Chinese, and finally again reviewed and worked on additional changes to make the volume more accessible to an English-speaking audience. Some of the authors also participated in a follow-up Brookings conference on this topic in May 2011. The expertise, commitment, patience, and understanding of all the authors have been extraordinary.
The ChinaUnited States Exchange Foundation provided financial support to the China Center for Comparative Politics and Economics, directed by Yu Keping, making this entire project possible, including the costs out of this English translation. We want to express our gratitude to the foundation itself and in particular to its chairman, Chee Hwa Tung, for his tireless efforts to improve the depth of understanding between China and the United States.
The Brookings Institution has provided the ideal environment for bringing this project to fruition. Brookings Board Chairman John L. Thornton and President Strobe Talbott have encouraged in every way research, writing, and related activities at Brookings that increase the depth of understanding between Chinese and Americans. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to key leaders in the Foreign Policy program and John L. Thornton China CenterMartin Indyk, Ted Piccone, Michael OHanlon, and Jonathan Pollackfor their encouragement and support. Thornton China Center staff Kevin Foley, Iris An, Teresa Hsu, Jordan Lee, and Robert OBrien provided excellent logistical support for this project.
Our thanks go to Andrew Marble, John Langdon, and Ryan McElveen for proofreading and editing, and especially Meara Androphy for editing, proofreading, and checking the translation and source citations.
We very much benefitted from the hard work of Professor Yu's research assistants, Yan Jian and He Zhe. Dr. He helped with the initial conference of the Chinese and American scholars in Beijing, and Dr. Yan was exceptionally helpful in coordinating contacts with the Chinese authors and in providing editorial assistance.
Last but by no means least, the terrific team at the Brookings Press has been enormously helpful. We want in particular to thank Valentina Kalk, director; Rebecca Campany, marketing director; Larry Converse, production manager; Janet Walker, managing editor; Susan Woollen, art coordinator; and Katherine Kimball, copy editor.
Preface
KENNETH LIEBERTHAL and CHENG LI
Political science is a relatively new discipline in China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, this nascent discipline was first criticized as a pseudoscience, then reorganized along Soviet lines, and ultimately entirely abolished. Only in the wake of the Cultural Revolution was it established anew as one of the consequences of Deng Xiaoping's policy of reform and opening up.
Since the 1980s, political science in China has evolved substantially: from a discipline whose sole emphasis revolved around pedagogy to one promoting both education and research, from being limited to the theories of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao Zedong to employing a wide array of conceptual approaches and foreign methodologies, and from basic ideological discourse to indigenously based empirical research. The field of political science has now become firmly established, and prominent Chinese political scientists enjoy broad readership, frequently appear as commentators in the media, sometimes brief top leaders, and actively participate in international forums and dialogues.
The twelve Chinese authors who have contributed to this volume are leading scholars who specialize in analysis of the Chinese political system. Most hold their master's or doctoral degrees in political science from Chinese universities and have years of experience in international academic exchanges and visiting scholar programs. They are both very much a part of the Chinese academy and serious analysts of China's system. Many have perspectives that reflect the critical thinking found among the liberal-minded intellectuals within the Chinese Communist Party itself.
Unique Features of This Volume
Past efforts at publishing collections of papers by Chinese and international political scientists have tended to draw together work on different subjects by different authors and thus have lacked a focused, in-depth discussion among the authors. This book is unique in that it combines the research of Chinese scholars with extensive, substantive comments on each by a counterpart American scholar. The topics include issues involving every part of the political system from the national level to the grass roots, and the chapters explore concerns regarding state structures, norms, and processes as well as those focused on the interaction of the state with its rapidly changing environment. Most of the papers by Chinese authors trace the evolution of the issue under scrutiny over time, identify key contemporary concerns, and, in many instances, provide recommendations for future policies and approaches.
For the twelve participating American scholars, this project presented an important learning opportunity and a chance to discuss their views with influential Chinese academic counterparts. The American commentators are professors at leading U.S. universities and senior fellows at important think tanks; eleven of the twelve have for many years focused their research on Chinese politics and society. This project has encouraged both the Chinese and American political scientists to speak their minds freely. It began with an October 2010 Beijing seminar that brought together all the Chinese and American authors for a thorough discussion of their papers. A follow-up May 2011 Brookings forum on China's governance was attended by a subset of these authors.
