Chinese Democracy / Edition 1

by Andrew J. Nathan

Overview

What do the Chinese mean when they say that their political systems is "democratic"? With recent improvements in relations between China and the West, this question is basic to an understanding of the Chinese people in their state.
 
In Chinese Democracy, Andrew Nathan investigates in depth the nature and meaning of "democracy" in China today, beginning with a vivid history of the short-lived Democracy Movement of 1978-1981, when groups of young people in a number of Chinese cities started issuing outspoken publications and putting up posters detailing their complaints and opinions. Nathan constructs—for the first time—a poignant picture of this burst of liberal activity, and at the same time he shows how distinctly Chinese it was and how the roots of its failure lay as much in history as in current political necessity. readers of this book will gain a new perspective on the nature of democracy as the Chinese practice it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520059337
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	10/08/1986
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	313
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Andrew J. Nathan is a professor of political science at Columbia University. He specializes in Chinese politics, foreign policy, human rights and political culture.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Chronology
1 The Democracy Movement
2 Official Limits
3 Liang Qichao and the Chinese Democratic Tradition
4 Democracy and Bureaucratism
5 The Challenge to Party Dictatorship
6 Political Rights in the Chinese Constitutional Tradition
7 The Rise of Propaganda
8 The Media in the Service of the State
9 Winning Back the Public
10 The 1980 Elections
Conclusion: Chinese Democracy and Western Values
Appendix: The Interviews
Source Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

Nathan provides a sober judgment on the redirection of Chinese politics since Mao Zedong's death in 1976. He concludes that ``there is little prospect the party will adopt . . . either of the two conditions the radical Chinese democrats identified as essential for authentic democracy: free elections and an independent press.'' Concepts such as democracy are notoriously difficult to interpret in a cross-cultural context, but Nathan's command of Chinese intellectual history serves him well. He argues that Chinese intellectuals and politicians have seen democracy as a means to focus a natural harmony between the state and the individual. Thus, they have never felt it necessary for democracy to provide protections for the individual against the state's power. Drawing on this insight, he explores the problems of the individual and the state, the role of the press, and the place of elections in China today. An engrossing book with broad appeal. Highly recommended. David D. Buck, History Dept., Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Library Journal