The end of communist rule in China will be one of the most momentous
events of the twenty-first century, sounding the death knell for the
Marxist-Leninist experiment and changing the lives of a fifth of
humanity. This book provides a likely blow-by-blow account of how the
Chinese Communist Party will be removed from power and how a new
democracy will be born.
In more than half a century of rule, the Chinese Communist Party has
turned a poor and benighted China into a moderately well-off and
increasingly influential nation. Yet the Party has failed to keep pace
with change since stepping aside from daily life in the late-1970s.
After nearly a hundred years of frustrating attempts to create a
workable political system following the overthrow of the last dynasty,
the prospects for democracy in China are better than ever, according to
Bruce Gilley.
Gilley predicts an elite-led transformation rather than a popular-led
overthrow. He profiles the key actors and looks at the response of
excluded elites, such as the military, as well as interested parties
such as Taiwan and Tibet. He explains how democracy in China will be
very "Chinese," even as it will also embody fundamental universal
liberal features. He deals with competing interests--regional, sectoral,
and class--of China's economy and society under democracy, addressing
the pressing concerns of world business. Finally he considers the
implications for Asia as well as for the United States.
The end of communist rule in China will be one of the most momentous
events of the twenty-first century, sounding the death knell for the
Marxist-Leninist experiment and changing the lives of a fifth of
humanity. This book provides a likely blow-by-blow account of how the
Chinese Communist Party will be removed from power and how a new
democracy will be born.
In more than half a century of rule, the Chinese Communist Party has
turned a poor and benighted China into a moderately well-off and
increasingly influential nation. Yet the Party has failed to keep pace
with change since stepping aside from daily life in the late-1970s.
After nearly a hundred years of frustrating attempts to create a
workable political system following the overthrow of the last dynasty,
the prospects for democracy in China are better than ever, according to
Bruce Gilley.
Gilley predicts an elite-led transformation rather than a popular-led
overthrow. He profiles the key actors and looks at the response of
excluded elites, such as the military, as well as interested parties
such as Taiwan and Tibet. He explains how democracy in China will be
very "Chinese," even as it will also embody fundamental universal
liberal features. He deals with competing interests--regional, sectoral,
and class--of China's economy and society under democracy, addressing
the pressing concerns of world business. Finally he considers the
implications for Asia as well as for the United States.
