Politics in China An Introduction

by Joseph, William A.

• ISBN13: 9780195335316
• ISBN10: 0195335317
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Sixty years ago, China was one of the poorest countries in the world, populated mostly by rural peasants, and still suffering from more than a century of internal turmoil and international humiliation. Today, China is a rapidly modernizing economic dynamo with growing global influence. Politics in China is an authoritative introduction to how this transformation occurred, and how China is governed today. Written by an international team of highly-regarded China scholars, each chapter offers an accessible overview of a key topic in Chinese politics. The opening section provides readers with a firm grounding in China's modern political history, from the fall of the last imperial dynasty through era of communist rule under Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and their successors. The next section covers the political system, with chapters on Communist Party ideology, the structure of the political system, and the policies behind the country's spectacular economic performance. The book then focuses on several major issues in China today: politics in the countryside and the cities; the arts; the environment; public health; and population policy. The final chapters cover politics in four important areas located on China's geographic periphery: Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Comprehensive and fully up to date in its coverage, Politics in China is essential not only for students studying contemporary China, but for any reader interested in learning how this rising power has evolved in recent times and the workings of its current political system.

Author Biography

William A. Joseph is Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College and an Associate in Research of the John King Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Contributors	p. xv
Studying Chinese Politics	p. 3
The Political History of Modern China
From Empire to People's Republic	p. 37
Mao Zedong in Power (1949-1976)	p. 63
Deng Xiaoping and His Successors (1976 to the present)	p. 103
Ideology, Governance, and Political Economy
Ideology and Chinese Politics	p. 129
China's Communist Party-State: The Structure and Dynamics of Power	p. 165
China's Political Economy	p. 192
Politics and Policy in Action
Rural China: Reform and Resistance	p. 225
Urban China: Change and Contention	p. 250
Policy Case Study: The Arts	p. 269
Policy Case Study: The Environment	p. 278
Policy Case Study: Public Health	p. 288
Policy Case Study: Population	p. 298
Politics on China's Periphery
Tibet	p. 315
Xinjiang	p. 336
Hong Kong	p. 355
Taiwan	p. 367
Timeline of Modern Chinese Political History	p. 383
Glossary	p. 389
Index	p. 425
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