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China's Transition from Communism – New Perspectives
As China moved from a planned to a market economy many people expected that China’s political system would similarly move from authoritarianism to democracy. It is now clear, however, that political liberalisation does not necessarily follow economic liberalisation. This book explores this apparent contradiction, presenting many new perspectives and new thinking on the subject. It considers the path of transition in China historically, makes comparisons with other countries and examines how political culture and the political outlook in China are developing at present. A key feature of the book is the fact that most of the contributors are China-born, Western-trained scholars, who bring deep knowledge and well informed views to the study.
Nuclear Logics
Nuclear Logics examines why some states seek nuclear weapons while others renounce them. Looking closely at nine cases in East Asia and the Middle East, Etel Solingen finds two distinct regional patterns. In East Asia, the norm since the late 1960s has been to forswear nuclear weapons, and North Korea, which makes no secret of its nuclear ambitions, is the anomaly. In the Middle East the opposite is the case, with Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Libya suspected of pursuing nuclear-weapons capabilities, with Egypt as the anomaly in recent decades. Identifying the domestic conditions underlying these divergent paths, Solingen argues that there are clear differences between states whose leaders advocat...
China's Governance Model
Many studies of government in China either simply describe the political institutions or else focus, critically, on the weaknesses of the system, such as corruption or the absence of Western-style democracy. Authors of these studies fail to appreciate the surprising ability of China’s government to rapidly transform a once impoverished economy and to recover from numerous crises from 1978 to the present. This book, on the other hand, takes a more balanced, more positive view. This view is based on a study of changes in China’s institutions for coping with critical crises in governance since 1978. These changes include better management of leadership succession, better crisis management, ...
China's New Public Health Insurance
Especially since the 2003 SARS crisis, China’s healthcare system has become a growing source of concern, both for citizens and the Chinese government. China’s once praised public health services have deteriorated into a system driven by economic constraints, in which poor people often fail to get access, and middle-income households risk to be dragged into poverty by the rising costs of care. The New Rural Co-operative Medical System (NRCMS) was introduced to counter these tendencies and constitutes the main system of public health insurance in China today. This book outlines the nature of the system, traces the processes of its enactment and implementation, and discusses its strengths a...
China's Global Quest for Resources
The world’s key resources of energy, food and water, which are closely connected and interdependent on each other, are coming under increasing pressure, as a result of increasing population, development and climate change. In the case of China, following its recent economic surge, energy, food and water are already nearing the point of shortage. This book considers how China is working to avoid shortages of energy, food and water, and the effect this is having internationally. Subjects covered include domestic policy debates on China’s resource strategies, challenges for managing transboundary waters related to China, responses from various regions and countries to China’s ‘Go Out’ strategy, and China’s increasing energy links with Russia and declining agricultural trade with the United States. The book concludes by discussing in comparative perspective China’s outward resource acquisition activities and the consequent policy implications.
Chinese Politics as Fragmented Authoritarianism
This book explores how far the concept of fragmented authoritarianism remains valid as the key concept for understanding how the Chinese political process works. It contrasts fragmented authoritarianism, which places bureaucratic bargaining at the centre of policy-making, arguing that the goals and interests of the implementing agencies have to be incorporated into a policy if implementation is to be secured, with other characterisations of China’s political process. Individual chapters consider fragmented authoritarianism at work in a range of key policy areas, including energy issues, climate change and environmental management, financial reform, and civil-military relations. The book also explores policy making at the national, provincial, city and local levels; debates how far the model of fragmented authoritarianism is valid in its current form or whether modifications are needed; and discusses whether the system of policy making and implementation is overcomplicated, unwieldy and ineffective or whether it is constructive in enabling widespread consultation and scope for imagination, flexibility and variation.
China's Great Urbanization
China’s extraordinary economic boom since the late 1970s has been accompanied by massive urbanization, with the proportion of the population living in cities rising from 18% in 1978 to 54% in 2014. Currently the Chinese government has amongst its objectives the target to increase this to 60% by 2020, and also to improve the quality of China’s cities. This book examines a wide range of issues connected to China’s urbanization. It considers the many problems which have come with rapid urbanization, including urban housing problems, difficulties affecting rural migrants in urban areas, and a lack of social protection. It examines areas of current reform, including land reform, shanty town renewal and moves to address environmental problems. It explores governance issues, and throughout assesses how urbanization in China is likely to develop in future.
International Norms and Cycles of Change
Wayne Sandholtz and Kendall Stiles sketch the primary theoretical perspectives on international norm change, the 'legalisation' and 'transnational activist' approaches, and argue that both are limited by their focus on international rules as outcomes.
Democracies and International Law
Contrasts democratic and authoritarian approaches to international law, explaining how their interaction will affect the world in the future.
