E-Book Overview
Since China began an era of market reform three decades ago, many Westerners believed that, political liberalization and, eventually, democracy would follow. However, contrary to Western expectations, China remains an authoritarian country and the communist party is still in power, even though the country has witnessed rapid economic growth and its people have become richer. In Marketization and Democracy in China, Jianjun Zhang questions whether China’s market reforms have created favorable social conditions for democracy, whether the country’s emerging entrepreneurial class will serve as the democratic social base, and the role of government in the process of transition. Based upon a careful analysis of two regions—Sunan and Wenzhou —the two prototypical local development patterns in China, Zhang finds that different patterns of economic development have produced distinct local-level social and political configurations, only one of which is likely to foster the growth of democratic practices. The results suggest that China’s political future is largely dependent upon the emerging class structure and offer a warning on China’s development: if market reforms and economic development only enrich a few, then democratic transition will be unlikely. Marketization and Democracy in China will be of interest to scholars of Chinese politics, political science and development studies.
E-Book Content
Marketization and Democracy in China
Since China began an era of market reform three decades ago, many Westerners believed that political liberalization and, eventually, democracy would follow. However, contrary to Western expectations, China remains an authoritarian country and the Communist Party is still in power, even though the country has witnessed rapid economic growth and its people have become richer. In Marketization and Democracy in China, Jianjun Zhang questions whether China’s market reforms have created favorable social conditions for democracy, whether the country’s emerging entrepreneurial class will serve as the democratic social base, and the role of government in the process of transition. Based upon a careful analysis of two regions – Sunan and Wenzhou – the two prototypical local-development patterns in China, Zhang finds that different patterns of economic development have produced distinct local-level social and political configurations, only one of which is likely to foster the growth of democratic practices. The results suggest that China’s political future is largely dependent upon the emerging class structure and offer a warning on China’s development: if market reforms and economic development only enrich a few, then democratic transition will be unlikely. Marketization and Democracy in China will be of interest to scholars of Chinese politics, political science, and development studies. Jianjun Zhang is Assistant Professor in Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, China.
Routledge studies on China in transition Series Editor: David S.G. Goodman
1 The Democratisation of China Baogang He 2 Beyond Beijing Dali Yang 3 China’s Enterprise Reform Changing state/society relations after Mao You Ji 4 Industrial Change in China Economic restructuring and conflicting interests Kate Hannan 5 The Entrepreneurial State in China Real estate and commerce departments in reform era Tianjin Jane Duckett 6 Tourism and Modernity in China Tim Oakes 7 Cities in Post Mao China Recipes for economic development in the reform era Jae Ho Chung 8 China’s Spatial Economic Development Regional transformation in the Lower Yangzi Delta Andrew M. Marton 9 Regional Development in China States, globalization and inequality Yehua Dennis Wei
10 Grassroots Charisma Four local leaders in China Stephan Feuchtwang and Wang Mingming 11 The Chinese Legal System Globalization and local legal culture Pitman B. Potte