The Party and the People - by Bruce J Dickson

About the Book

"Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained an unrivaled grip over the country. Despite economic calamity, widespread social upheaval, and even violence against its own people, the party has overseen the fastest economic growth in history and only strengthened its hold on power. How has it achieved this, and how exactly does the party and the government function? What is political life like for the people of China, and how has this changed over the decades of the party's rule? Is democracy on the horizon? These are some of the questions that animate Bruce Dickson's exploration of Chinese politics today. At the core of the party's practices is a dual approach--repression when faced with existential, political threats, and responsiveness when faced with more localized economic or social unrest. Yet while the regime is responsive to a degree often unacknowledged by international observers, ultimately it is not accountable to the public. The opportunity for the public to chose leaders is limited to very local levels, and it is the party itself that chooses when to compromise and when to repress. Dickson uses this lens to illuminate a number of key questions: How are leaders chosen and how are policies made? When is protest and civic engagement allowed, and when is it suppressed? Acknowledging that the inner workings of the party remain shrouded in secrecy, Dickson draws from the full landscape of sources available to lay out what we know and what the future may hold as Xi's rule extends and takes an increasingly repressive approach to governing"--

Book Synopsis

How the Chinese Communist Party maintains its power by both repressing and responding to its people

Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained unrivaled control over the country, persisting even in the face of economic calamity, widespread social upheaval, and violence against its own people. Yet the party does not sustain dominance through repressive tactics alone--it pairs this with surprising responsiveness to the public. The Party and the People explores how this paradox has helped the CCP endure for decades, and how this balance has shifted increasingly toward repression under the rule of President Xi Jinping.

Delving into the tenuous binary of repression and responsivity, Bruce Dickson illuminates numerous questions surrounding the CCP's rule: How does it choose leaders and create policies? When does it allow protests? Will China become democratic? Dickson shows that the party's dual approach lies at the core of its practices--repression when dealing with existential, political threats or challenges to its authority, and responsiveness when confronting localized economic or social unrest. The state answers favorably to the demands of protesters on certain issues, such as local environmental hazards and healthcare, but deals harshly with others, such as protests in Tibet, Xinjiang, or Hong Kong. With the CCP's greater reliance on suppression since Xi Jinping's rise to power in 2012, Dickson considers the ways that this tipping of the scales will influence China's future.

Bringing together a vast body of sources, The Party and the People sheds new light on how the relationship between the Chinese state and its citizens shapes governance.

Review Quotes

"A tour de force in all its aspects, Dickson's new book shows his mastery of relevant facts, nuances and scholarship on China, and an enviable power of synthesis marshalled for the benefit of a non-expert audience. The plethora of examples and the photos offered throughout the book recommend it as an engaging reading for the widest possible audience."---Lavinia Stan, European Legacy

"Bruce J. Dickson offers a comprehensive description of how China's authoritarian political system operates. ... Dickson observes how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) manag­es to stay in power without the necessary elements of Western liberal democracy, such as individual rights, freedom of speech, and multi­party competitive elections."---Wenfang Tang, American Affairs Journal

"Very well balanced in evaluating factionalism and party ideology in the decision-making and personnel appointment processes. . . . [and] a good overview of how the CCP runs China, and how the CCP responded to different stakeholders in the country with a Top to Down Approach."---Larry Ngan, Interlib

"A good treatment of exactly what the title promises."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"

"An authoritative survey of the major issues confronting China."---Walter C. Clemens, Jr., New York Journal of Books

"An ideal text for college courses on Chinese politics, and the writing is fully accessible to general readers as well."-- "Choice"

"Dickson offers a comprehensive primer on how the CCP chooses leaders and makes policy, how it responds to political protests with repression both hard and soft, and how it may use or constrain the forces of nationalism based on what aids its political survival. ... In calm, lucid prose, Dickson traces the evolution of the CCP since 1949, focusing on the recent divergence between local and higher-level leaders."---Nicolas Gattig, Japan Times

"Dickson's book gives a useful overview of the various bodies that run China and the party's involvement in them. He also surveys a series of important questions, such as why the CCP doesn't like civil society or religious groups. He is especially strong on the issue of nationalism, which many foreign observers assert is growing in China, especially among young people. Dickson gives a sure-footed assessment of public opinion data to show that this is not the case, and that young people are in fact less nationalistic than their parents' generation."---Ian Johnson, New York Review of Books

"The Party and the People provides a wonderfully clear-eyed look at how the CCP has reinvented itself since 1989."---Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Mekong Review

"The Party and the People ... drafts a helpful balance sheet of the party's strengths and weaknesses, giving readers a better understanding of how the CCP's versatility enabled it to become the longest-ruling communist party in history."---Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs

About the Author

Bruce J. Dickson is professor of political science and international affairs and chair of the Department of Political Science at George Washington University. His many books include The Dictator's Dilemma and Allies of the State. He lives in Vienna, Virginia.