Self-Reflections of Fears and Dreams: Political Legitimacy and Strategic Thinking Among Chinese Communist Party Leaders, 1927-1953

While the years between 1927 and 1953 in China were a time of war, revolution, and social disintegration, they were also a time for building political legitimacy. In this ground-breaking work, Ray Hartman painstakingly details how Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders perceived political legitimacy during the party’s formative years. He argues that Chinese Communist leaders’ conception of legitimacy was the main force driving the party’s policies and military strategy during this time. Although “legitimacy” often comes up in discussions pertaining to the CCP's performance regarding the party's policies -- whether they be social, economic, or military -- this work is the first to demonstrate how top CCP leaders, themselves, understood the concept. Providing extensive documentation from party directives and speeches (including recently available sources) as well as memoirs written by party members and military leaders, the author reveals a CCP consumed with the notion of its own legitimacy in hopes of not only attaining power but saving the Chinese state from destructive internal and external forces.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations List of Tables Note on Transliteration Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: Legitimacy in CCP Policy-Making and Strategic Thinking Chapter One: Legitimacy and CCP Strategic Thinking Chapter Two: From Rural to Urban Areas: The CCP Seeks Legitimacy in the Cities Chapter Three: The USSR and the CCP's Legitimacy Chapter Four: China after the GMD: The CCP Seeks to Strengthen Its Legitimacy Chapter Five: CCP Legitimacy under Threat: China's Decision to Intervene in Korea Chapter Six: Bolstering CCP Legitimacy: The War to Resist the U.S. and Aid Korea Conclusion: CCP Legitimacy and China Today Appendix: Abbreviations for Source Materials Bibliography About the Author

About the Author :
Ray Hartman is assistant professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.

Review :
Focusing on the development and maintenance of the political legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1927 to 1953, Hartman posits that “the residual effects of a shared history create a shared sense of identity whether it be political, cultural, or otherwise” (p. 2). Within this context, he responds to two questions: how did the CCP construct its legitimacy? And how did its understanding of its own legitimacy influence strategic planning and the creation of policy? In answering these questions, Hartman calls on sources such as documented Party directives, speeches, and the memoirs of political and military leaders. He explores the domestic and international drivers from which the CCP derived its political legitimacy, including conceptions of the CCP in rural areas and international relations. Last, he considers the implications for the future of the Party as it confronts increasing international and domestic pressures. Recommended. Graduate students and faculty. This book offers extensive empirical evidence on how the CCP developed its political support and military tactics during its formative years and the Korean War based on a tripartite framework of Chinese political legitimacy. It makes a significant contribution to our comprehension of the biggest political party in the world and its arduous battle to wrest control of political power and preserve its broad base of popular support. This study of the Chinese idea of legitimacy and how the CCP has adapted to it filled an important gap in the study of Chinese political development.