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Coalitions of the Weak

For the first time since Mao, a Chinese leader may serve a life-time tenure. Xi Jinping may well replicate Mao's successful strategy to maintain power. If so, what are the institutional and policy implications for China? In his new book, Victor Shih investigates how leaders of one-party autocracies seek to dominate the elite and achieve true dictatorship, governing without fear of internal challenge or resistance to major policy changes. Through an in-depth look of late-Mao politics informed by thousands of historical documents and data analysis, he uncovers Mao's strategy of replacing seasoned, densely networked senior officials with either politically tainted or inexperienced officials. The book further documents how a decentralized version of this strategy led to two generations of weak leadership in the Chinese Communist Party, creating the conditions for Xi's rapid consolidation of power after 2012.

Speakers:
• Victor Shih, Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations, Associate Professor of Political Science, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy
• Barry Naughton, So Kwan Lok Professor of Chinese International Affairs, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (Moderator)

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This webinar series is organized by the 21st Century China Center at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. For more information on China activities, as well as recordings of previous webinars, please visit china.ucsd.edu.

May 5, 2022 05:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)