Abstract
Analysts differ greatly in their assessments of the long-term stability of the Chinese political system. This article argues that China’s probable future is one of continued political muddling through, but some developments—especially the political succession—could radically change this. The article also examines two questions that are not adequately addressed by the focus on political stability: the types of relationships that will develop between the rapidly growing coastal areas and the more slowly advancing interior; and the efficacy of the polity in dealing with looming environmental and demographic crises. To address these problems, this article assesses respectively the political system’s overall strengths, deficiencies, and challenges in the coming years.
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His most recent book includePolicy Making In China: Leaders, Structures, and Processes (with Michael Oksenberg) (Princeton University Press, 1988) andA Research Guide to Central Party Government Meetings in China, 1949–1986 (with Bruce Dickson) (M.E. Sharpe Press, 1989).
This article was originally prepared for a multilateral conference on “Northeast Asia’s Emerging Order in a Changing World,” held in Tokyo, Japan, May 1991. The conference was cohosted by theYomiuri Shimbun and the Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies of the George Washington University.
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Lieberthal, K. China’s political system in the 1990s. Journal of Northeast Asian Studies 10, 71–77 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03025053
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03025053