China's Deep Reform: Domestic Politics in Transition. Lowell Dittmer , Guoli Liu

Abstract

China's Deep Reform: Domestic Politics in Transition, edited by Lowell Dittmer and Guoli Liu. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefleld, 2006. xiv + 517 pp. US$89.00 (hardcover), US$34.95 (paperback). This edited volume is a collection of journal articles and book chapters on Chinese politics during the reform period. Its seven sections include 18 chapters, excluding the introduction and the conclusion. The book starts with the introduction by Guoli Liu and Lowell Dittmer, which briefly describes the major themes: (1) leadership change and elite politics, (2) political and legal reform, (3) political economy in transition, (4) the changing public sphere, (5) village elections and workers' politics, and (6) the shadow side of reform (namely, emerging problems and challenges). Liu and Dittmer rightly point out that an exploration of these issues provides valuable lessons for other countries in the process of transition from a command economy to a market economy. In Chapter 1, Dittmer and William Hurst review the field of contemporary Chinese politics. They outline the changes in topics, levels of analysis, and methodological approaches and techniques in the field over the years. They propose that more research should be based on the middle-range level of analysis to avoid atheoretical research and over-generalizations; there should also be a combination of methodological approaches; and more research should be based on the field's substantive foci that can also speak to larger theoretical concerns. Chapters 2 to 4 deal with leadership change and elite politics. In Chapter 2, Dittmer and Yu-Shan Wu suggest that the informal dimension, particularly faction politics, has been an important characteristic of Chinese politics. A modified factional model is still crucial to understanding elite politics in China. Based on an impressive database, Cheng Li and Lynn White address the issue of political succession from Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao. They stress the adaptability of the party's elite in the selection of successors. Bruce J. Dickson's article focuses specifically on the party's adaptation: co-opting new elites and forging links with nonparty organizations. But Dickson also points out that the inclusion of certain members may contribute to a Leninist party's disintegration. Chapters 5 to 7 focus on political and legal reforms. Baogang Guo's article suggests that the party has been able to adapt to the changing political environment and strengthen its political legitimacy by reinventing itself. In the new environment, the party needs to adopt new measures, such as legitimizing political participation from different groups, to maintain its legitimacy. The chapters by Andrew J. Nathan and Randall Peerenboom both point to the slow process of the implementation of rule of law in China. Nathan's article reviews the many proposals of Chinese political reform and suggests that the heart of most proposals is the empowerment of the National People's Congress. As elsewhere, the progress of transition to constitutionalism will not be smooth in China. Peerenboom analyzes Chinese administrative law reform and rule of law in the era of globalization. He suggests that there has been considerable progress in realizing the rule of law in China, but it is still far from adequate. The creation of a modern legal system is thus constrained by China's specific circumstances. Chapters 8 and 9 form the section Political Economy in Transition. Yingyi Qian's chapter examines two reform stages. In the first (1979-93), the economic system was incrementally reformed to improve incentives and increase the scope of the market. In the second (since 1994), new institutions supporting the market are built before old institutions are dismantled. He points out that China's reform experience contradicts some of the conventional wisdom that suggests the incompatibility between socialist systems and market reforms. Shaoguang Wang's chapter examines the relationship between openness and inequality. …