China's quest for democracy is constrained by Confucian legacies and the norm of the one-party system. This book explores the feasible paths toward democracy in China, challenging methodological wisdom in employing quantitative changes in socioeconomic structure to predict dichotomous change in the political system.

Autorentext

Lin Gang is Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Academic Committee Chair of the School of International and Public Affairs, and Director of the Center for Taiwan Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. He has served as Program Associate at the Woodrow Wilson Center and President of the Association of Chinese Political Studies. He is the author of several books, including China after Jiang.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Liberal Democratic Principles and China's Authoritarian Tradition.- 3. Ideological Transportation in Pre-Reform China.- 4. Evolution of Democratic Ideas in Post-Mao China.- 5. From a 'Party State' toward the a 'State-Party'.- 6. Institutional Innovations toward Democracy.- 7. Conclusions.