The Party and the People: Chinese Politics in the 21st Century

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Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained unrivalled control over the country, persisting even in the face of economic calamity, widespread social upheaval, and violence against its own people. Yet the party does not sustain dominance through repressive tactics alone it pairs them with surprising responsiveness to the public. The Party and the People explores how this paradox has helped the CCP endure for decades, and how this balance has shifted increasingly toward repression under the rule of President Xi Jinping.

Delving into the tenuous binary of repression and responsively, Dickson illuminates numerous questions surrounding the CCPs rule: How does it choose leaders and create policies When does it allow protests Will China become democratic Dickson shows that the partys dual approach lies at the core of its practices repression when dealing with existential, political threats or challenges to its authority, and responsiveness when confronting localised economic or social unrest. The state answers favourably to the demands of protesters on certain issues, such as local environmental hazards and healthcare, but deals harshly with others, such as protests in Tibet, Xinjiang, or Hong Kong. With the CCPs greater reliance on suppression since Xi Jinpings rise to power in 2012, Dickson considers the ways that this tipping of the scales will influence Chinas future.

Bringing together a vast body of sources,The Party and the Peoplesheds new light on how the relationship between the Chinese state and its citizens shapes governance.

Reviews

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"
"The Party and the People provides a wonderfully clear-eyed look at how the CCP has reinvented itself since 1989."---Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Mekong Review
"Dicksons book gives a useful overview of the various bodies that run China and the partys involvement in them. He also surveys a series of important questions, such as why the CCP doesnt like civil society or religious groups. He is especially strong on the issue of nationalism, which many foreign observers assert is growing in China, especially among young people. Dickson gives a sure-footed assessment of public opinion data to show that this is not the case, and that young people are in fact less nationalistic than their parents generation."---Ian Johnson, New York Review of Books
"The Party and the People ... drafts a helpful balance sheet of the partys strengths and weaknesses, giving readers a better understanding of how the CCPs versatility enabled it to become the longest-ruling communist party in history."---Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs
"A good treatment of exactly what the title promises."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
"An ideal text for college courses on Chinese politics, and the writing is fully accessible to general readers as well." * Choice *
"Bruce J. Dickson offers a comprehensive description of how Chinas authoritarian political system operates. ... Dickson observes how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) manages to stay in power without the necessary elements of Western liberal democracy, such as individual rights, freedom of speech, and multiparty competitive elections."---Wenfang Tang, American Affairs Journal
"Dickson offers a comprehensive primer on how the CCP chooses leaders and makes policy, how it responds to political protests with repression both hard and soft, and how it may use or constrain the forces of nationalism based on what aids its political survival. ... In calm, lucid prose, Dickson traces the evolution of the CCP since 1949, focusing on the recent divergence between local and higher-level leaders."---Nicolas Gattig, Japan Times
"An authoritative survey of the major issues confronting China."---Walter C. Clemens, Jr., New York Journal of Books

Author Bio

Bruce J. Dickson is professor of political science and international affairs and chair of the Department of Political Science at George Washington University. His many books include The Dictators Dilemma and Allies of the State. He lives in Vienna, Virginia.