Power Restructuring In China And Russia / Edition 1

by Mark Lupher

Overview

The massive economic transformations and political upheavals that have been sweeping China and the Soviet Union in the final decades of the twentieth century are among the great dramas of our time. Yet the origins of these revolutionary changes are murky and their outcomes unclear. Have we witnessed the demise of an archaic authoritarian order and the rise of pluralism and democracy, or are the tumultuous events of the post-Mao era and the period of perestroika more usefully viewed in light of broader patterns of power and politics in Chinese and Russian history? Considering these questions with a new interpretation of power relations and political processes in China and Russia, Mark Lupher explores the imperial era, the communist period, and the current situation in both countries. Rather than speaking of “reform,” which too often is understood as liberalization along Western lines, his discussion is focused on power restructuring—the ebb and flow of state power; the centralization and decentralization of political and economic power; and the three-way struggles between central rulers, various elites, and nonprivileged groups that drive these processes. Lupher’s power-restructuring analysis is noteworthy in combining broad comparative-historical analysis and conceptualization with a closely focused discussion and reinterpretation of the Chinese Cultural Revolution—the core of his book. By comparing and bringing new light to bear on a series of pivotal episodes in Chinese and Russian history, he furthers our understanding and assessment of processes that will continue to unfold in China, Russia, and the former Soviet republics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813325453
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	04/26/1996
Series:	Social Change in Global Perspective Series
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mark Lupher is assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia.

Table of Contents

Power in Macrosociological Perspective — Power Restructuring in Late Imperial, Republican, and Revolutionary China — Power Restructuring in Muscovite, Imperial, and Revolutionary Russia — The Rise and Consolidation of Stalinism — Reform and Reaction in the Khrushchev Era — Chinese Communism, Maoism, and the Origins of the Cultural Revolution — The Cultural Revolution and the Origins of Post-Mao Reform — Continuity and Change in Post-Mao China — Power Restructuring in the Period of Perestroika — Power Restructuring in Historical and Comparative Perspective

Editorial Reviews

Paper edition (unseen), $20.00. Schansberg (economics, Indiana U.- Southeast) challenges the conventional approach of most books on poverty, presenting an alternative to welfare programs. He demonstrates how special interest groups advocate policies, such as farm subsidies and drug prohibition, that benefit themselves and hurt the poor, and shows how this inequity occurs in both product and labor markets. He argues for radical welfare reform based on private charities. Paper edition (unseen), $20.00. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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