Party vs. State in Post-1949 China

Shiping Zheng

ISBN 10: 0521582059 / ISBN 13: 9780521582056

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1997

About this Item

Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - This book provides the most comprehensive analysis of one of the most important issues in China today: the tensions between the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese state legislative, judicial, administrative, and military institutions. Taking the 'neo-institutionalist' approach, the author suggests that the Communist Party in post-1949 China faces an institutional dilemma: the Party cannot live with the state, and it cannot live without the state. Zheng demonstrates that it is not only conceptually constructive, but analytically imperative to distinguish the state from the Communist Party. Secondly, he integrates detailed study with broader generalizations about Chinese politics, thus making efforts to overcome the tendency toward specialized scholarship at the expense of comparative and systemic understanding of China. He also opens a new dimension of Chinese politics - the uncertain and conflictual relationship between the Communist Party and the Chinese state.

Seller Inventory # 9780521582056

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Party vs. State in Post-1949 China
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521582059
• ISBN 13: 9780521582056
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 235W x 157H x 23D millimeters 235 millimeters width by 157 millimeters height by 23 millimeters depth
• Weight: 659 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This book provides the most comprehensive analysis of one of the most important issues in contemporary China: the tensions between the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese state institutions. Taking the "neo-institutionalist" approach, Zheng suggests that the Party faces an institutional dilemma: it cannot live with the state, and it cannot live without the state. It is not only conceptually constructive, but analytically imperative to distinguish the Chinese state from the Communist Party. Zheng makes efforts to overcome the tendency toward specialized scholarship at the expense of comparative and systemic understanding.

Review

"This is an important study for understanding both the future of China and the tragedies of its communist past. Although scores of studies deal with China's government and politics, Zheng's book is virtually unique in its effort to disaggregate the "party-state." Choice

"Shiping Zheng has succeeded in his first book in providing an interesting and comprehensive overview of Chinese politics that is not merely an updated recapitulation of what most China specialists already know. Thus his book will be of interest not only to undergraduate and graduate students in China studies (primarily Chinese politics), but to professional China watchers (academics, journalists) as well." Lowell Dittmer, Political Science Quarterly