Inklings of Democracy in China

by Suzanne Ogden

Overview

Since 1979 China’s leaders have introduced economic and political reforms that have lessened the state’s hold over the lives of ordinary citizens. By examining the growth in individual rights, the public sphere, democratic processes, and pluralization, the author seeks to answer questions concerning the relevance of liberal democratic ideas for China and the relationship between a democratic political culture and a democratic political system. The author also looks at the contradictory impulses and negative consequences for democracy generated by economic liberalism.

Unresolved issues concerning the relationships among culture, democracy, and socioeconomic development are at the heart of the analysis. Nonideological criteria are used to assess the success of the Chinese approach to building a fair, just, and decent society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674008793
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	07/15/2002
Series:	Harvard East Asian Monographs , #210
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	442
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Suzanne Ogden is Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University, Boston.

Editorial Reviews

Ogden persuasively argues that in spite of authoritarian political traditions and cultural predilections, China is moving inevitably toward greater democratization and a growing pluralization, which together are contributing to the development of a civil society. Moreover, she explains that China’s expansion of democratic institutions is shaped by Beijing’s rational analysis of what best will serve the Chinese Communist Party in its bid to remain in power; at the same time, she provides a clear-eyed evaluation of the value-laden concepts of equality and freedom that often cloud this controversial issue.

Choice - S. Hart

Ogden persuasively argues that in spite of authoritarian political traditions and cultural predilections, China is moving inevitably toward greater democratization and a growing pluralization, which together are contributing to the development of a civil society. Moreover, she explains that Chinas expansion of democratic institutions is shaped by Beijing's rational analysis of what best will serve the Chinese Communist Party in its bid to remain in power; at the same time, she provides a clear-eyed evaluation of the value-laden concepts of equality and freedom that often cloud this controversial issue.
— S. Hart

Choice

In contrast to the many China specialists who highlight the negative consequences of Beijing's continuing commitment to Leninism and one-party rule, Ogden trusts her personal observations during many trips to China to report that Chinese society has moved a significant distance from its earlier totalitarian arrangements. She solidly plants her analysis of the current prospects for more liberal pluralism in the context of a thoughtful review of traditional Chinese culture and its problems with modernization throughout the twentieth century. She treats in some detail China's recent experiences with local elections. But the strongest basis for her optimism comes from her analysis of the positive developments in Chinese society, especially with respect to health, education, living standards, and the general opening of minds — areas in which she finds China well ahead of India. China will not necessarily develop into a Western-style democracy, she says, but it will become a blended system that will give a reasonably good life to its citizens.

Foreign Affairs