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The Neo-Communist Regime of Present-Day China

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Abstract

The first goal of this article is to define the neo-communist regime as a specific type of undemocratic post-communist construct. Three case studies analyzing the regimes led by Zhan Videnov in Bulgaria, Ion Iliescu in Romania, and Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Belarus are used to identify its main characteristics. The second goal is to show that the present-day Chinese regime falls into this category. As such, it does not represent an intermediate or transitional phase. This ‘hard’ neo-communist regime is the final stage of the Chinese post-communist transition. In the foreseeable future, it will most likely preserve its present characteristics.

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  1. Centre for International Peace and Security Studies, 307-3125, Boulevard des Trinitaires, Montréal, Québec, H4E 2S2, Canada

    Theodor Tudoroiu

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Correspondence to Theodor Tudoroiu.

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The author is grateful to Dr. Stéfanie Von Hlatky-Udvarhelyi (Centre for International Peace and Security Studies) and to reviewers of Journal of Chinese Political Science for their helpful suggestions.

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Tudoroiu, T. The Neo-Communist Regime of Present-Day China. J OF CHIN POLIT SCI 16, 407–429 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-011-9163-1

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