Democracy Deficit in China: A Choice or Foreordained (original) (raw)

Towards a Chinese Brand of Democracy? Models, Dynamics and Limitations

Being the second largest economic power of the world, China's Leninist centralized market system seems to have set up a development model of authoritarianism without fundamental political reform. Still, some reform efforts at the elite and local levels (for example, village committee elections) have begun to challenge the balance of power between the conservatives and proponents of political reform. In particular, in view of many paradoxes, conflicts, inequalities and anxieties resulting from economic growth-promoting policies, moderate Chinese elites have articulated different models of political reform ranging from a system of consultation backed by the rule of law, a power-sharing system, democratic institutional building, to incremental democracy. Is there a Chinese democratic model in the making? This paper uses new institutional and constructivist approaches to analyze the effects of some reform efforts and examines the applicability of different governance models in the Chinese context. It argues that a strategy of incremental institutional tactics may prove to be helpful to address urgent social inequality issues. A strong elite leadership is still highly expected that continues to obstruct the birth and development of a pluralist and power-sharing system.

Democracy and Democratization in China (Spring 2025, Fordham)

While China is often classified as an authoritarian state by standard political science definitions, the Communist Party and Chinese government frequently assert that China is on its path to becoming the world’s most democratic nation, arguing that the Chinese model of democracy surpasses Western forms, such as representative, liberal, and electoral democracy. This course examines the ideals and practices of political reform in post-Mao China (1978 to present) through the lenses of democracy and democratization. Key questions include: How do Chinese intellectuals and leaders conceptualize democracy? What democratic reforms have been pursued in China? What is the likelihood of China evolving into a democratic state, however democracy is defined—and should it? Or, would a stronger meritocratic system serve China’s future better?

DEMOCRACY IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CHINA: NOTES ON A DISCOURSE

Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 1999

In less than a hundred years China has seen a fundamental intellectual shift from generally theocratic to generally democratic presumptions about the proper nature of government. In sum, the theory of government moved from a moral-sacred vision embedded in imperial Confucianism to an essentially civil and utilitarian vision emphasizing modernization.' Chinese intellectuals in the twentieth century have spent much energy exploring how democracy could benefit China, and, appearances to the contrary, democracy emerged as the dominant form of political discourse early in the century. Authoritarianism of one kind or another obviously exerted great appeal during much of this time, but even the strictest forms of nationalist corporatism and utopian communism were part of a larger democratic discourse.

Democracy in China Since Tiananmen: Elite Choice in Historical Context

2021

Why has the modern Peoples Republic of China not democratized? Since the late 20th century, scholarly consensus has acknowledged a process of waves of democratization occurring globally since the early 19th century, and yet the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has remained mostly unmoved and aloof to these changes. This work seeks to understand why the PRC has not democratized since the opening-up of the nation and its markets under Deng Xiaoping after Mao. To answer these questions on democratic resistance the work highlights the evolving logic of the PRC’s system and its leadership since the 1980s. As I argue, the central focus on stability within the PRC provides insight into Chinese resistance to democracy. To do this the work applies theories of democratization to three important historical moments related to Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong, a once democratic enclave within the nation and its relationship to the driving leadership of each era. What is shown is that the modern ...

China and Democracy in the Asia Pacific

2006

This is a revised and updated version of a paper was prepared for the First Biennial Conference of the World Forum for Democratization in Asia, organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) and held at Taipei on 15-17 September 2005. 2 Las opiniones expresadas en estos artículos son propias de sus autores. Estos artículos no reflejan necesariamente la opinión de UNISCI. The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors. These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of UNISCI.

The Self-Sustaining Virtue of the Powerful? A Critique of the China Model. The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy. 2015 [2016]. By Daniel A. Bell. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 336 pp. 30.95cloth;30.95 cloth; 30.95cloth;19.95 paper

Politics and Religion

Many recent books assay the current crisis of liberal democracy in the West. Daniel A. Bell's The China Model goes further, and proposes a radical alternative. In failing, the book nevertheless casts fresh light on central challenges to democracy. Bell's central claim is that rule by the Communist Party in China can be interpreted in light of Confucian (or Chinese) traditions and values as a "political meritocracy." This emergent China Model, on Bell's idealization, can be understood as aspiring to moral standards and modes of governance that represent a deep and distinctive alternative to Western liberal democracy. Bell is engaged in what the late Ronald Dworkin called "constructive interpretation," which involves proposing a vision of what a constitutional tradition, or in this case a whole political system, could be at its best (Law's Empire, Cambridge, MA, 1986, 52, 65-69). The point is not to endorse current realities, but to construct an ideal imperfectly prefigured in China's politics: a constructive interpretation must both fit and justify. The hope is that the China Model of political meritocracy can serve as a source of ideals and critical standards that are rooted in Chinese history and tradition, and not simply imported from outside.

Democracy in China: Opportunity or Challenge? The Rise and Fall of the Democratic Movement of 1989

Democracy in China: Opportunity or Challenge? The Rise and Fall of the Democratic Movement of 1989 The Rise and Fall of the Democratic Movement of 1989

The aim of this paper is to explore and get a deeper understanding in regards to the democratic phenomena in China during 1989 that reached it highest point at Tiananmen Square Protest on June 4th. The late 1980s witnessed the process of economic and political transformations in the Chinese country with some unfixed outcomes for the Communist Party. As the standing literature has unfolded, students, the intellectual elite as well as civilians, were disappointed and irritated by corruption and lack of democracy in the country. These combination of a growing pro-Western elite of intellectuals and the anger about the current economic situation in the country provoked the aftermath of the Tiananmen uprising of 1989 in which, mostly students, claimed for the opening of the country, seeking for a democratization project and a more participative society to arise. The outcome of this insurrection ended up with hundreds of civilian’s lives and with a deep wound the society has not decided to forget yet. To understand this succession of events, this paper will focus primarily on the factors that help us understand in first place the Democratic Movement and in second place, the Governments reaction. In this way : (1) Chinese political system & Confucianism and (2) international context: the fall of the Soviet Union are to be analysed for us to get a better perspective of the situation. After this analysis is done, the main challenges and consequences will be illustrated in order to conclude with a summary in the last two chapters.

'Chinese Capillary Democracy:' Can Western Democracies Learn From China?

When Westerners and Chinese alike are asked about China's political system, they will respond by labeling it as dictatorial, authoritarian, and undemocratic. Nobody will argue that it is a model that Western democracies can draw inspiration from. I, however, disagree with this view and argue that two core characteristics of China's political system define it as a capillary democracy. First, the Chinese pyramid of authority and power stands on a foundation of elected grassroots representatives that act as capillaries for a two-way exchange of information between the Chinese people and their government. Then, the decision-making process of the government is guided by the information that has been absorbed through this foundation, which results in policies and measure that improve the livelihoods of the majority of the Chinese people. Therefore, it can be argued that the Chinese government is by and for the people. I conclude that Western democracies can draw inspiration from China limiting elections to the grassroots level and using long-term, professional, and performance-driven teams to govern and lead its people. Before describing how China's capillary democracy works, let us first broadly define what democracy means. Democracy is one of the words that is familiar to most, but it is often misunderstood. It comes from Greek and means rule by the people. It is not obvious, however, which people should rule and when and how they should do so. A more concise definition of a democratic government is that: