Making China Strong: The Role of Nationalism in Chinese Thinking on Democracy and Human Rights (Politics and Development of Contemporary China)

Robert Weatherley argues that Chinese perceptions of democracy and human rights have been heavily influenced by the pressing issue of how to make China strong in the face of a perceived threat posed by foreign imperialism, be it military imperialism during the previous two centuries and cultural imperialism in more recent decades. Robert Weatherley examines the role of nationalism in Chinese thinking on democracy and human rights spanning four successive periods: the late Qing, the Republic, Mao's China and post-Mao China. During this time, many of the debates in China about democracy and rights have been tied to the question of how to make China strong. The trigger is usually a perceived threat from foreign imperialism. Following the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839, this imperialism took a military form, leading many Chinese reformers to embrace a system of democracy and rights in order to protect China from further foreign encroachments. In more recent years, the perceived threat has come from cultural imperialism, most apparent, Beijing claims, when the West criticises China for its poor record on democracy and human rights. This has led to the evolution of a distinctively Chinese model of democracy and rights that differs significantly from that deriving from the West "Robert Weatherley examines the role of nationalism in Chinese thinking on democracy and human rights spanning four successive periods: the late Qing, the Republic, Mao's China and post-Mao China. During this time, many of the debates in China about democracy and rights have been tied to the question of how to make China strong. The trigger is usually a perceived threat from foreign imperialism. Following the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839, this imperialism took a military form, leading many Chinese reformers to embrace a system of democracy and rights in order to protect China from further foreign encroachments. In more recent years, the perceived threat has come from cultural imperialism, most apparent, Beijing claims, when the West criticises China for its poor record on democracy and human rights. This has led to the evolution of a distinctively Chinese model of democracy and rights that differs significantly from that deriving from the West."-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-26 Saving the Empire: Democracy and Rights in the Late Qing Dynasty....Pages 27-58 Building a New China: Democracy and Rights in the Early Republican Period (1912–28)....Pages 59-84 Towards Authoritarianism: Withholding Democracy and Rights for the Good of the Nation (1928–49)....Pages 85-111 Protecting the People’s Republic: Mass Democracy and Class Rights in the Mao and Early Post-Mao Eras....Pages 112-140 From Military Imperialism to Cultural Imperialism: Democracy and Rights in the Post-Mao Era....Pages 141-168 Conclusion....Pages 169-189 Back Matter....Pages 190-216