The Waning of the Communist State: Economic Origins of Political Decline in China and Hungary

Description

This collection of essays offers a compelling explanation for the decline of communism in the two countries that went the furthest with economic reforms—China and Hungary. Articulating a vision of change that serves as a counterpoint to the prevailing emphasis on citizen resistance and protest, the contributors focus instead on the declining organizational integrity of the centralized party-state. The essays illuminate a "quiet revolution from within" that beset the two regimes after they chose to reform their economies and make concessions to the private sector. The nine contributors, three each from the disciplines of sociology, political science, and anthropology, examine key trends that appeared in both countries. The chapters trace political consequences of economic reform that range from the decline of the central state's fiscal dominance to the revitalization of long-suppressed ethnic loyalties. Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents Perface Contributors 1. The Quiet Revolution from Within: Economic Reform as a Source of Political Decline Andrew G. Walder THE COMMAND ECONOMY AND PARTY POWER: THE PROBLEM DEFINED DEPARTURES FROM CENTRAL PLANNING AS A SOURCE OF POLITICAL DECLINE The Growth of Economic Alternatives Enterprise Reform in the Public Sector Changes in Revenue Flows: Fiscal Reform THE QUIET REVOLUTION FROM WITHIN: WEAKENING THE CENTRALIZED PARTY STATE POLITICAL AUTHORITY IN LOCAL SETTINGS THE SELF-REINFORCING CHARACTER OF POLITICAL DECLINE ANTICIPATIONS OF POSTCOMMUNIST TRANSFORMATIONS REFERENCES PART ONE: The Process of Political Decline 2. Property Rights and Political Power: The Cumulative Process of Political Change in Hungary Anna Seleny TWO POLAR NOTIONS OF POLITICS THE LINKS BETWEEN SOCIALIST POLITICS AND ECONOMICS CYCLES OF REFORM AND RECENTRALIZATION INTERNALIZING AN “EXTERNALITY”: THE TRUE COST OF LABOR AND APPLIED KNOWLEDGE THE POLITICS OF PROPERTY-RIGHTS REFORM: TACTICAL LESSONS, DISCOURSE AND ADAPTIVE IDENTITY HYBRID ECONOMY AND POLITY CONCLUSION REFERENCES 3. The Second Economy as a Subversive Force: The Erosion of Party Power in Hungary Ákos Róna-Tas WHAT THE PARTY THOUGHT THE SECOND ECONOMY COULD DO WHAT THE SECOND ECONOMY ACTUALLY DID WHY DID THE LEADERSHIP CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE SECOND ECONOMY? CONCLUSION REFERENCES PART TWO: The Eclipse of the Center 4. The Rise of the Regions: Fiscal Reform and the Declineof Central State Capacity in China Shaoguang Wang STATE CAPACITY Definition Measurement The Determinants of State Capacity THE RISE OF THE SECOND BUDGET The Expansion of Extrabudgetary Funds after the Reform The Explosion of Extrabudgetary Funds Control and Resistance The Decline of State Capacity POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE DECLINE OF CENTRAL EXTRACTIVE CAPACITY The Decline of Steering Capacity The Decline of Legitimation Capacity The Fragmentation of the State REFERENCES 5. Losing the Political Initiative: The Impact of Financial Liberalizationin Hungary David L. Bartlett THE CONTRADICTIONS OF FINANCIAL REFORM Recentralization versus Decentralization Summary of the Cases Political Consequences for the Communist Party BANKING REFORM AND STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT Credit Allocation in the Two-Tiered Banking System Limits on Central Intervention in Commercial Credit Policy The Party’s Resort to Nonmarket Mechanisms Structural Adjustment in the Mining Industry Structural Adjustment in the Steel Industry The Political Consequences of Adjustment via Nonmarket Means THE DILEMMAS OF WAGE LIBERALIZATION Wage Reform versus Macroeconomic Stabilization Transformation of the Party-Controlled Trade Union Tensions within the Trade Union Movement Conflict Between the Party and the Unions, 1989 Political Repercussions of Wage Liberalization LIBERALIZATION OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE Foreign-Exchange Liberalization: The Enterprise Sector Foreign-Exchange Liberalization: The Household Sector Foreign-Exchange Liberalization: Western Investors The Political Consequences of Asymmetric Liberalization of Foreign-Exchange Policy CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES APPENDIX: INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED BY THE AUTHOR IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY PART THREE: Remaking Local Political Networks 6. Bureaucratic Patronage and Private Business: Changing Networks of Power in Urban China David L. Wank THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN PRIVATE BUSINESS WHY ENTREPRENEURS NEED BUREAUCRATIC SUPPORT HOW OFFICIALS SUPPORT ENTREPRENEURS Access to Profit Access to Protection HOW ENTREPRENEURS INFLUENCE OFFICIALS Payoffs Employment Partnerships SHIFTING INFLUENCE STRATEGIES AND BUSINESS GROWTH Shifting to Higher Levels of Bureaucratic Support Shifting to More Enduring Ties The Logical Extreme of Bureaucratic Support FROM DEPENDENT TO SYMBIOTIC CLIENTELISM Transformations in Clientelist Exchange Transformations in Clientelist Networks Transformations in Clientelism and State Infrastructural Power CONCLUSION REFERENCES 7. Political Hierarchy and Private Entrepreneurship in a Chinese Neighborhood Ole Bruun PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY PRIVATE BUSINESS IN THE LOCAL POLITICAL PROCESS HOUSEHOLD STRATEGIES BUREAUCRATIC COMMITMENT COLLECTIVE PASSIVE RESISTANCE SYSTEMATIZED EXCHANGES BETWEEN BUSINESS AND BUREAUCRACY BUILDING AND MANIPULATING AUTHORITY BUREAUCRACY’S IMPACT: OBSTRUCTION OR PROMOTION OF BUSINESS? FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL HIERARCHIES CONCLUSION REFERENCES PART FOUR: Power and Identity in Communities 8. Everyday Power Relations: Changes in a North China Village Yun-xiang Yan THE BASES OF CADRE POWER IN THE COLLECTIVE ECONOMY THE DYNAMICS OF CHANGE AND MARKET-ORIENTED REFORM “PLAY THE GAME WISELY”: CHANGING PATTERNS OF CADRE BEHAVIOR “LEAVE ME ALONE”: POLITICAL MENTALITY AND ACTION AMONG VILLAGERS CONCLUDING REMARKS REFERENCES 9. Economy and Ethnicity: The Revitalization of a Muslim Minority in Southeastern China Dru Gladney UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF ECONOMIC REFORMS IN MINORITY AREAS NATIONALITY, SOCIETY, AND STATE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND MUSLIM MINORITY IDENTITY IN A FUJIANESE LINEAGE COMMUNITY ETHNIC POLITICS AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY MUSLIM TRADERS, CHINESE STATE THE LEGITIMIZATION OF ETHNICITY IN CHINA REFERENCES Index Back Cover