China's Leaders: The New Generation
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Book Overview
Who will govern China at the dawn of the twenty-first century? What are the social backgrounds and career paths of the new generation of leaders? How do they differ from their predecessors in their responses to perplexing economic and sociopolitical challenges? Drawing upon a wealth of both quantitative and qualitative data on the so-called fourth generation of leaders--those who were young during the Cultural Revolution--Cheng Li sheds valuable light on these key questions. He shows that this group is more diversified than previous generations of CCP leaders in formative experiences, political solidarity, ideological conviction, and occupational background. The author explores the contradictions between political leaders and non-elite peers in the same generation--those approaching middle age who were barred from education during the Mao era and now often are unemployed and disenchanted with the government. The book concludes with the intriguing notion that this generation of leaders may have a better understanding of its peers' needs and concerns and therefore may make the regime more accountable to its people, thus contributing to, rather than opposing, democratic development.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0847694976
ISBN13:9780847694976
Release Date:February 2001
Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Length:304 Pages
Weight:0.95 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Turns out they're all engineers
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
For an academic book, "China's Leaders" is very readable; this non-academic enjoyed it on a long plane ride and left the jet feeling like some long-standing questions about China had been answered. It's one of those super-well-organized books so it's easy to skip around and find the stuff you dig: broad-based surveys, focused case studies, whatever. AND at this point the book is recent enough to be relevant but old enough for Cheng Li to have made some predictions (note: very guarded academic predictions, of course) that have actually been borne out in the several years since publication. That, and his tone and scope, give the whole book a cagey credibility that's refreshing, especially with so many other authors running around making! crazy! predictions! about the next superpower.
Spectacular Piece of Research
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Cheng Li does an outstanding job of uncovering the relationships that propel many of China's leaders. Excellent piece of scholarship and the best book I have run across dealing with elite Chinese politics. This is a must read for any person interested in China.
A Good Specialist's Reference
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Taking the old "kremlinology" approach to figuring out Chinese politics, this book organizes each leader's factional affiliation by education, geographic location (the "Shanghai clique", etc.) and others. This approach has always been usable only as a general guide to leadership behavior, but it's all we've got. This book does it as well as any other, but a reader should know that it's not written in a narrative style, but rather in a reference format. Highly useful.
An outstanding piece of China scholarship
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
I just finished reading this book, and it is truly a first rate piece of China scholarship. It is a must read book for anyone trying to understand the leadership transition currently underway in Beijing. The book is very well written, and very readable. It also is clearly based upon first rate research and analysis. The entire new generation of leadership is discussed, plus more in depth discussions of Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong, and Wen Jiabao. Any journalist wanting to understand Chinese politics needs to read this book.
Cheng Li Leads in Leadership Analysis
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
Cheng Li has written a first-rate book on the next generation of Chinese leaders: what backgrounds they are likely to have, where they went to school, what types of qualifications they are likely to have, etc. etc. While much of the first half of the book is a rather dry academic look at educational backgrounds and statistical analysis thereof, the real meat of the book is the chapter on the key roles of mishu or secretary (chief-of-staff is a better translation) and taizi or cadre kids. It is here that Li is able to really shed some light on the nature of the Chinese style of leadership grooming and promition. Drawing on CHinese language sources increasingly available from publishing houses such as mirrorbooks.com in Hong Kong, Li does a superb job of looking closesly at the careers of Zeng Qinghong and Wen Jiabao, two leaders likely to advance at the next Party Congress in 2002. Extensive use of data tables on so-called 4th generation leaders makes the book very data rich...a must read for those wanting to analyze China's leadership in the run up to the major changes likely at the next Party Congres....
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