The Chinese Communist Party in Action: Consolidating Party Rule

Description

Much is written about China and the role of the Chinese Communist Party, but without exploring in detail the nature of the party and how it operates. This book provides an in-depth assessment of the current state of the Chinese Communist Party. It outlines the huge size of the party – 88 million members with 4.3 million organizations at the grassroots level. It sets out how the party has developed over time, how the party is organized and how its ideology is formed and transmitted. It discusses how the party acts in the different areas of China’s economy, society and government, at local, regional and national levels. It explores the party’s role in the formation of policy, including foreign policy, and assesses the impact of different factions and of the current anti-corruption campaign. Overall, the book demonstrates how embedded the Communist Party is in all aspects of Chinese economy, society and politics, and how its position continues to be consolidated. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Notes on Contributors Introduction The state of the field of CCP studies How the CCP has been perceived The organization of the book Notes Part I: Overview Chapter 1: The Chinese Communist Party: An interpretation The CCP as an open political process CCP as an open process: its institutions and means A cultural-institutional interpretation Openness in Chinese traditional emperorship Modern transformation The CCP and internal pluralism Party meritocracy and its inclusiveness Conclusion Notes Chapter 2: Turning the CCP into an Elite Party Survey of the field The evolving elite party The Chinese political elite Wages and benefits Elite access New regulations What is the future of the CCP? Ranking-stratified system Conclusion Notes Part II: Organizational and ideological integration Chapter 3: Managing human resources to sustain the one-party rule The anatomy of a mysterious organ Controlling the nation’s human resources: the COD in action Nomenklatura Cadre grooming and training Human resources development and management Policy tool and behavioural regulator Structural weaknesses Autonomy Accountability Conclusion Appendices Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III Notes Chapter 4: Party chiefs, formal and informal rules and institutions Setting the context: the party-state in reform and party chiefs Local party chiefs: political and managerial roles The institutional structure The party committee-centered local governance structure The party group structure in the local state Formal and informal rules Navigating the institutional structure in governance Filling the gaps: supplementing the formal rules Adopting a formalist approach: same rules, different games Playing conflicting rules against each other Establishing informal mechanisms to overcome the formal rules Prevalence of informal rules Conclusion Notes Chapter 5: Party spirit: Producing communist belief in contemporary China Party spirit and red tourism Party spirit and cadre education Hongyan and the commodification of party spirit (nature?) (essence?) The politics of party spirit The magic of instilling Communist belief Conclusion: the emerging religious basis of Communist rule Notes Part III: Elite politics in the reform era Chapter 6: What is a faction? Recent developments Institutionalization and factions What do factions do? Conclusion Notes Chapter 7: Politics of anti-corruption campaign Socioeconomic causes of corruption Xi’s anti-corruption campaign: a game changer Differences between Xi Jinping and Hu Jintao Reforming anti-corruption institutions Xi’s anti-corruption crusade: more evidence of CCP’s “authoritarian resilience”? Notes Part IV: The party in the state, society and economy Chapter 8: The party/army state in great transformation In search of a new analytical model of CCP–PLA relations Challenges in conceptualizing CCP–PLA relations Conditional subjective control Politburo–CMC divide: the cause of weakened party oversight Institutional hollowing out of commissar control Xi Jinping and the changing CCP–PLA relations The game changer in CCP/PLA interaction Xi–PLA alliance Inclination to solicit PLA support Conclusion Notes Chapter 9: The party in the legislature and the judiciary The rule of law under the party-state in China Legislature, lawmaking and the party Legislature and lawmaking process in China Party control of the legislature’s personnel and decision-making CCP’s procedural and substantive control in the legislative process The structure of the court system Party control of judiciary through the party political-legal committees Party control and judicial independence The raison d’être of the party’s control of the legislature and judiciary Concluding remarks: legal reform and the future of China’s legislature and judiciary Notes Chapter 10: The party in grassroots governance Challenges for grassroots governance The role of party in grassroots governance Shanghai as a case study Party building Community building Grid management and “grand coordination” Shanghai’s new initiatives Discussion and conclusion Notes Chapter 11: China’s central state corporatism: The party and the governance of centrally controlled businesses State and big business: the perspective of “late development” The party and large state enterprise reform The party and China’s central state corporatism The party as organizational entrepreneur The party as leadership talent manager Conclusion Notes Part V The party and foreign policy Chapter 12: International Department and China’s foreign policy Foreign policymaking structure Key players in China’s foreign policy decision-making structure Evolution of the ID Expanding orientation and improving public engagement Sharing and adapting experiences, and promoting practical cooperation Retaining a strong role in relations with traditional “allies” Conclusion Notes Chapter 13: The Chinese Communist Party and restructuring national security policymaking Changing challenges and China’s new national security strategy Reconstructing China’s national security policymaking What role will the CNSC play in China’s national security policymaking? Conclusions Notes Index