Description:
Many books on government in China either simply describe the political institutions or else focus, critically, on the system's weaknesses. This book takes a more balanced, more positive view. It argues that, although the party-state is determined to preserve itself, China's governance model has changed for the better in many respects in recent years. The book explains the thinking behind China's governance model and the changes to it, and assesses how the governance model is likely to develop, comparing recent developments with changes in China's governance over a long historical period, and concluding that the regime can be expected to survive for the foreseeable future.
Review Quotes:
"Hongyi Lai provides a comprehensive interpretation of Chinese and Western scholarship about "the China model." This book begins with an extended review of literature, and Lai's summary will be useful to anyone wanting an overview of current Western-based writings about Chinese politics as well as writings from a Chinese viewpoint. (...) Hongyi Lai has provided a useful, coherent overview of adaptive authoritarian governance in China."
- Lynn T. White III, University of California, Berkeley, and Princeton University