A Tight Grip
A non-democratic regime has two problems that make political survival more challenging than it is for other types of government: How does a ruler share power with other members of the political elite? And how does the regime control society? A Tight Grip examines the strategies that China’s current, and longest-serving, head of state has used to resolve these questions and bolster his leadership of the world’s second-most populous country.
Wen-Hsuan Tsai explores the president’s method of concentrating decision-making power in his own hands through political dominance and ideological control while still increasing the avenues of advancement available to grassroots cadres. As long as they display good political performance, they can achieve rapid promotion at the local level. As a result, China’s leader has managed to expand the reach of social control while reducing its cost to the regime. In both cases, the leader of communist China has employed innovative measures to signal his threats and promises and discourage resistance.
A Tight Grip is an in-depth exploration of institutional and policy instruments aimed at developing a restricted power-sharing model and at maintaining tight social order. This clear-eyed assessment of particular regulations reveals not only their pros and cons but also their implications for China’s political development.
The authoritarian resilience of China today depends heavily on the institutional innovations of the party-state. In this fascinating analysis, Tsai outlines five mechanisms that facilitate power sharing and social control -- both crucial for any authoritarian regime's survival and prosperity. The devil is in the details. This volume illuminates the institutional details of the Chinese system. It’s a must-read for any serious China-watcher.
Wen-Hsuan Tsai is a research fellow in the Institute of Political Science at Academia Sinica in Taiwan and a professor in the Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies at National Chengchi University. He is a winner of the Gordon White Prize for most original article in the China Quarterly, and his work has also appeared in the China Journal, Critical Asian Studies, the Journal of Contemporary China, the China Review, the Journal of East Asian Studies, and many other publications.
