China since Tiananmen: The Politics of Transition(Cambridge Modern China Series)

China Since Tiananmen is the first book to look comprehensively at the intellectual and political trends in the decade since the Tiananmen Incident (1989) to assess the ways in which China has changed. Fewsmith looks on the one hand at the intellectual critique of the enlightenment tradition, which had previously held a sacrosanct position in the thinking of liberal intellectuals since the May Fourth Movement of 1919, to explain the rise of neo-conservatism and nationalism over the past decade. On the other hand, he examines the maneuverings of elite political actors to understand the constraints they operate under and how the conduct of elite politics has changed since Tiananmen. Together, these two approaches give a more comprehensive and realistic assessment of the forces that drive China today. These trends are of great importance for anyone trying to understand Sino-US relations.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements; Introduction: state and intellectuals at the turn of the century; Part I. Line Struggle Revidicus: The Attack on Deng's Reform Program: 1. Tiananmen and the conservative critique of reform; 2. Deng moves to revive reform; Part II. Redefining Reform: the Search for a New Way: 3. The emergence of neo-conservatism; 4. Post-modernism versus liberalism: the emerging gulf of values; 5. The emergence of neo-statism and popular nationalism; Part III. Elite Politics and Popular Nationalism: 6. Jiang Zemin's rise to power; 7. Elite politics in an era of globalization and nationalism; Conclusion; Epilogue; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Review :
'… it offers one of the clearest accounts written so far of the various academic trends in contemporary China.' Asian Affairs 'China since Tiananmen is a most impressive narrative of china's political transition in the past decade … By way of examining the past, China since Tiananmen enhances our understanding of the future.' New Zealand International Review '… the book is clearly one of the finest published in recent years on Chinese politics. Fewsmith does a marvelous job in delineating the different strands of contemporary Chinese intellectual thoughts and in guiding us through the literati landscape of China.' Democratization 'The book is a masterpiece of excavation of intellectual trends that had their origins in the 1980s but were overlooked because of western enthusiasm to see a world that would look like ours. It is descriptive rather than analytical, but it will be an essential resource for anyone who wishes to understand how these changes came about, who the key thinkers were, and how a nascent public opinion played into elite politics.' Development & Change '… exceptional book … Fewsmith does an excellent job of tracing the ups and downs of the factions within the party leadership and their shifting influence during this tumultuous period.' Journal of East Asian Studies