Mao's Invisible Hand

Sebastian Heilmann

ISBN 10: 0674060636 / ISBN 13: 9780674060630

Published by Harvard University, Asia Center, US, 2011

About this Item

Observers have been predicting the demise of China's political system since Mao Zedong's death over thirty years ago. The Chinese Communist state, however, seems to have become increasingly adept at responding to challenges ranging from leadership succession and popular unrest to administrative reorganization, legal institutionalization, and global economic integration. What political techniques and procedures have Chinese policymakers employed to manage the unsettling impact of the fastest sustained economic expansion in world history?As the authors of these essays demonstrate, China's political system allows for more diverse and flexible input than would be predicted from its formal structures. Many contemporary methods of governance have their roots in techniques of policy generation and implementation dating to the revolution and early PRC-techniques that emphasize continual experimentation. China's long revolution had given rise to this guerrilla-style decisionmaking as a way of dealing creatively with pervasive uncertainty. Thus, even in a post-revolutionary PRC, the invisible hand of Chairman Mao-tamed, tweaked, and transformed-plays an important role in China's adaptive governance.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780674060630

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mao's Invisible Hand
• Publisher: Harvard University, Asia Center, US
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674060636
• ISBN 13: 9780674060630
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 476 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Observers have been predicting the demise of China’s political system since Mao Zedong’s death over thirty years ago. The Chinese Communist state, however, seems to have become increasingly adept at responding to challenges ranging from leadership succession and popular unrest to administrative reorganization, legal institutionalization, and global economic integration. What political techniques and procedures have Chinese policymakers employed to manage the unsettling impact of the fastest sustained economic expansion in world history?

As the authors of these essays demonstrate, China’s political system allows for more diverse and flexible input than would be predicted from its formal structures. Many contemporary methods of governance have their roots in techniques of policy generation and implementation dating to the revolution and early PRC―techniques that emphasize continual experimentation. China’s long revolution had given rise to this guerrilla-style decisionmaking as a way of dealing creatively with pervasive uncertainty. Thus, even in a post-revolutionary PRC, the invisible hand of Chairman Mao―tamed, tweaked, and transformed―plays an important role in China’s adaptive governance.

About the Authors

Sebastian Heilmann is Professor of Comparative Government and the Political Economy of China at the University of Trier.

Elizabeth J. Perry is Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government at Harvard University and Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute.

Nara Dillon is a Lecturer in the Departments of Government and East Asian Studies at Harvard University.

Patricia M. Thornton is University Lecturer in the Politics of China at Oxford University.