China’s Changing of the Guard
The Editors’ introduction to “China’s Changing of the Guard.”
January 2003
Volume 14, Issue 1
China's Changing of the Guard
China’s Changing of the Guard: Authoritarian Resilience
Successful institutionalization will help the regime survive the pressures of advanced modernization and integration with the global economy.
China’s Changing of the Guard: The Limits of Authoritarian Resilience
The regime has only institutionalized itself partially and temporarily; institutional norms are currently eroding, and this is likely to continue.
China’s Changing of the Guard: Threats to Party Supremacy
The Communist Party’s adaptation to China’s new social elites will lead to a democratic transition only, if at all, at the expense of regime continuity.
China’s Changing of the Guard: The Problem of State Weakness
The Chinese state is much weaker than most people realize, which bodes ill for the country’s democratic prospects.
China’s Changing of the Guard: State Capacity on the Rebound
The Chinese state has become more efficient, constrained, and responsive—improvements that could lay a base for a successful transition.
China’s Changing of the Guard: The New Inequality
Class politics is an ever more important reality, but the growth of capitalism is not likely to produce pressures for democratization.
China’s Changing of the Guard: The Rise of the Technocrats
With both reformists and leftists pushed aside, political center-stage now belongs to new pragmatists both inside and outside the Communist Party.
China’s Changing of the Guard: A Volcanic Stability
The outward appearance of a powerful and confident Communist party-state masks a deep crisis.
China’s Changing of the Guard: Contradictory Trends and Confusing Signals
Political renewal is contending with a process of political decay that has yet to reach an end.
Afghanistan’s Long Road to Reconstruction
To forestall a worst-case scenario, the U.S. and the world must make a deeper commitment to peacekeeping and decentralized government.
The 30th Anniversary Freedom House Survey
The 30th Anniversary Freedom House Survey: Liberty’s Advances in a Troubled World
The largely positive trends indicated in this year’s Freedom House Survey encourage cautious optimism on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary.
The 30th Anniversary Freedom House Survey: Modern Democracy as a System of Separations
The “system of separations” is a historic achievement that must be defended even against normatively “purer” understandings of democracy.
The Deadlock in Iran
The Deadlock in Iran: Pressures from Below
Despite today’s gridlock, there are grounds for hope in the widespread embrace of democratic ideals by young people.
The Deadlock in Iran: Constitutional Constraints
The vast obstacles to democratic reformism include basic provisions in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic itself.
Deliberalization in Jordan
After a decade of partial liberalization begun by the late King Hussein, freedoms are now being rolled back by an anxious regime.
Montenegro: The Dilemmas of a Small Republic
October 2002 brought the latest in a series of “critical” elections that have helped to point the way to an independent, more democratic future.
Turbulence and Reform in Papua New Guinea
Holding regular, free elections may not be enough to stop turbulence that threatens both the quality of democracy and the coherence of the state.
Character and Leadership
A review of The Politics of Moral Capital by John Kane.
Latin Democracy, Comprehensively
A review of Democracies in Development: Politics and Reform in Latin America by J. Mark Payne et al.
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Bahrain, Bosnia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Latvia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Pakistan, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey.
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: “A Republican Manifesto: A Model for Overcoming Iran’s Political Deadlock” by Iranian investigative journalist Akbar Ganji; opening remarks and acceptance speeches from the fifteenth annual W. Averell Harriman Democracy Awards; “Community of Democracies statement on Terrorism.”
News and Notes
World Democrats Meet in Seoul; The Retrail of Saad Eddin Ibrahim; NED Democracy Service Medal; Cuban Awarded Civil Courage Prize; Tokyo Democracy Symposium; Report on NED’s International Forum.