Politicized challenges, depoliticized responses: Political monitoring in China's transitions

Abstract

Having experienced a painful process of transition from revolution to modernization over the past 60 years, China now faces the mounting social, economic and political challenges that regularly face transition states. While the Chinese Communist Party-state proves to be resilient and able to adapt, innovate and evolve, it is also well-known that the social and economic transitions in China have produced significant strains on the political system. How does the Chinese state differ from the liberal democracies discussed in this volume in managing social and political risks? This paper examines the evolving strategies of political control in China. It points out the increasingly politicized challenges that the Chinese Communist Party faces and also offers an explanation for the reasons behind the politicization or the mainstreaming of politically motivated challenges. The paper then introduces the paradigmatic shift in the Party’s control strategy from open political repression to an apolitical, less ideological social management in regulating the increasingly politicized challenges.