1st Edition

Debating Political Reform in China Rule of Law vs. Democratization

By Suisheng Zhao Copyright 2006
    320 Pages
    by Routledge

    312 Pages
    by Routledge

    The growing disconnect between China's market-oriented economy with its emerging civil society, and the brittle, anacronistic, and authoritarian state has given rise to intense discussion and debate about political reform, not only by Western observers, but also among Chinese intellectuals. While some expect China's political reform to lead to democratization, others have proposed to strengthen the institution of single-party rule and provide it with a solid legal base. This book brings the ongoing debate to life and explores the options for political reform. Offering the perspectives of both Western and Chinese scholars, it presents the controversial argument for building a consultive rule of law regime as an alternative to liberal democracy. It provides several critiques of this thesis, and then tests the thesis through empirical studies on the development of the rule of law in China.

    Introduction, Suisheng Zhao; 1. Toward a Consultative Rule of Law Regime in China, Pan Wei; 2. Political Liberalization without Democratization: Pan Wei's Proposal for Political Reform, Suisheng Zhao; 3. A Government of Laws: Democracy, Rule of Law and Administrative Law Reform in China, Randall Peerenboom; 4. The Rule of Law as Transition to Democracy in China, Larry Diamond; 5. A Comparative Politics of Democratization in China, Edward Friedman; 6. Pan Wei's Consultative Rule of Law Regime and Reforming Authoritarianism in China, Gunter Schubert; 7. Toward the Rule of Law: Why China's Path Will Be Different from the West, Baohui Zhang; 8. The People's Court in Transition: The Prospects of the Chinese Judicial Reform, Qianfan Zhang; 9. State Power and Unbalanced Legal Development in China, Yongshun Cai and Songcai Yang; 10. Law and Labor in Post-Mao China, Yunqiu Zhang; 11. The Internet and Emerging Civil Society in China, Guobin Yang; 12. The Internet and Single-Party Rule in China, Tamara Renee Shie; 13. Towards a Rule of Law Regime: Political Reform under China's Fourth Generation of Leadership, Suisheng Zhao; 14. Reflections on "Consultative Rule of Law Regime": A Response to My Critics, Pan Wei; About the Editor and Contributors; Index.

    Biography

    Suisheng Zhao