China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy

The rise of China as a great power is one of the most important developments in the twenty-first century. But despite dramatic economic progress, China's prospects remain uncertain. In a book sure to provoke debate, Minxin Pei examines the sustainability of the Chinese Communist Party's reform strategy-pursuing pro-market economic policies under one-party rule. Pei casts doubt on three central explanations for why China's strategy works: sustained economic development will lead to political liberalization and democratization; gradualist economic transition is a strategy superior to the "shock therapy" prescribed for the former Soviet Union; and a neo-authoritarian developmental state is essential to economic take-off. Pei argues that because the Communist Party must retain significant economic control to ensure its political survival, gradualism will ultimately fail. The lack of democratic reforms in China has led to pervasive corruption and a breakdown in political accountability. What has emerged is a decentralized predatory state in which local party bosses have effectively privatized the state's authority. Collusive corruption is widespread and governance is deteriorating. Instead of evolving toward a full market economy, China is trapped in partial economic and political reforms. Combining powerful insights with empirical research, China's Trapped Transition offers a provocative assessment of China's future as a great power.

Table of Contents:
Abbreviations Introduction 1. Why Transitions Get Trapped: A Theoretical Framework 2. Democratizing China? 3. Rent Protection and Dissipation: The Dark Side of Gradualism 4. Transforming the State: From Developmental to Predatory 5. China's Mounting Governance Deficits Conclusion Appendix: Reported Cases of Local Mafia States Notes Acknowledgments Index

About the Author :
Minxin Pei is Tom and Margot Pritzker '72 Professor of Government and Roberts Fellow, and the director of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College.

Review :
Thought-provoking...Mr. Pei argues, persuasively, that China's gradualism, often favourably contrasted with the former Soviet Union's flirtation with radical reforms, is as much a political as an economic strategy. -- Martin Wolf Financial Times 20060531 Pei does not have much time for the optimistic assumption that democracy in China is just around the corner...For Pei, there is little chance of dethroning the Communist party behemoth in spite of the heroic efforts of the dissidents and democracy campaigners. -- Chris Patten Financial Times 20060612 As Pei sees it, big trouble looms [for China]. Continued progress toward a more modern economy will require the establishment of a true rule of law, which in turn will require 'institutional curbs' on governmental action. These two limitations on power are incompatible with the party's insistence on dominating society. So long as the current political framework remains in place, then, China is effectively, and perhaps fatally, trapped in its state of transition...[China's Trapped Transition presents a] comprehensive and, I believe, compelling understanding of present-day China. -- Gordon G. Chang Commentary 20060901 [An] acute and insightful examination of China's ongoing transition. -- Chris Hunter China Economic Review 20061001 Pei's most significant contribution lies in his lucid exposition of the causal links between the structural logic of China's "illiberal adaptation" and its manifest socio-economic and political consequences...He has arguably--like Elvin before him--raised the level of debate and altered the terms of engagement. -- Richard Baum China Journal 20070101