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Loyalty Toward State and Nation: Top-Level Design and “Moral Careers”

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Organized Loyalty

Part of the book series: Politics and Development of Contemporary China ((PDCC))

Abstract

Top-level design has become Xi’s pet phrase for organizational reform and specifically the enforcement of discipline in malfunctioning state agencies. It involves acquiring a bird’s eye view of the field, and from there initiating full-scale and multi-level planning from the top of the management pyramid, ideally making it possible to overcome inertia, risks of failure, and weaknesses in complex governance systems. In a more foreboding time and a digitally well-connected society, the Party-state, under Xi Jinping, envisages the need for more control and security measures. In his speeches, Xi Jinping has made it clear that he foreshadows more active involvement by social media and tech companies in the efforts of top-level design. As illustrated by the creation of national and local social credit systems, active censoring of online content the Party-state seeks to foster citizens’ moral careers and cultivate the political loyalty of citizens. Nonetheless, this endeavor is fraught with risks.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A copy of this document of the state education commission is on file with the author.

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  1. Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Johan Lagerkvist

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Lagerkvist, J. (2023). Loyalty Toward State and Nation: Top-Level Design and “Moral Careers”. In: Organized Loyalty. Politics and Development of Contemporary China. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40037-7_3

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