The Chinese Communist Party's Capacity to Rule: Ideology, Legitimacy and Party Cohesion (Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific)

Why did the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) not follow the failure of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union? This book examines this question by studying two crucial strategies that the CCP feels it needs to implement in order to remain in power: ideological reform and the institutionalization of leadership succession. "This book studies the survival strategies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Examining both the CCP's quest for popular legitimacy and its search for party cohesion, Zeng argues that ideological reform and the institutionalization of power succession are crucial factors in the party's retention of power. China's economic success has created a fundamental dilemma for the CCP: if a communist party does not deliver communism and class victory, why is it there at all? There is a potential contradiction between generating economic success by utilizing quasi-capitalist economic policies on the one hand, and the fact that this is a communist party that supposedly justifies its rule by being the vehicle to deliver a communist society on the other. This contradiction has proved a challenge to the CCP's rule, generating belief crises in Chinese society and ideological battles within the party. This book shows how the CCP has remained in power by continually revising the ideological basis that justifies its rule"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 9 List of Tables 11 Acknowledgments 12 List of Abbreviations 13 1 Introduction 14 2 Existential Crisis of the Chinese Communist Party? 42 3 Popular Legitimacy from the Western Perspective 68 4 Popular Legitimacy from the Chinese Perspective 109 5 Ideological and Political Education in China 128 6 The Institutionalization of the Authoritarian Leadership in China 166 7 Conclusion: A Journey to Popular Legitimacy and Party Cohesion 194 Appendix: Coding Manual 208 Notes 215 Bibliography 218 Index 243 Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-28 Existential Crisis of the Chinese Communist Party?....Pages 29-54 Popular Legitimacy from the Western Perspective....Pages 55-95 Popular Legitimacy from the Chinese Perspective....Pages 96-114 Ideological and Political Education in China....Pages 115-152 The Institutionalization of the Authoritarian Leadership in China....Pages 153-180 Conclusion: A Journey to Popular Legitimacy and Party Cohesion....Pages 181-194 Back Matter....Pages 195-237