Chinese Democracy After Tiananmen

by Yijiang Ding

Overview

Is China moving toward a liberal democracy? How does Western engagement with China contribute

to this enormous cultural shift? While still one of the most memorable and inflammatory moments in late 20th-century political history, the 1989 protest in Tiananmen Square seems to have accomplished little toward promoting political reform in contemporary China. However, the past decade has witnessed a tremendous shift in the way Chinese society and the Chinese economy are organized, and few would dispute that the country is experiencing a dramatic transition. Yijiang Ding assesses this extraordinary change in terms of changes in the formal conception of "democracy," and illustrates how this central reconstruction has drastically altered the former unity of state and society under the Leninist model. Drawing on new Chinese scholarship and political theory, Ding presents a sweeping and multidimensional picture of modern China at the political crossroads.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231125659
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	03/06/2002
Series:	Contemporary Chinese Studies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	173
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Yijiang Ding is professor of political science and chair of the International Relations Program at Okanagan University College.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Democracy in the Chinese Context
2. Pre-Tiananmen Intellectual Rethinking of State and Society
3. Post-Tiananmen Discussions
4. Emerging Civil Society: Associations
5. Reorganizing Rural Society: Village Self-Government
6. Cultural Distinction and Psychological Independence
7. Conclusion: Theory and Reality

Editorial Reviews

Explores the change in the formal intellectual conception of democracy among the Chinese since the Tiananmen Square period. Looks at changes in the relationship between state and society in intellectual, social, and cultural arenas, drawing on recent scholarship to show that the Chinese people are developing a new appreciation of independence from state authority, and investigates the role that Western engagement with China plays in contributing economically and politically to the recent shift in attitudes. The author teaches political science and chairs the International Relations program at Okanagon University College. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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