The People's Congresses and Governance in China: Toward a Network Mode of Governance (Library of Legislative Studies) Book

Through analysis of the most recently available data to Western scholarship and conducting in-depth interviews with many insiders, Ming Xia investigates how and why the provincial legislatures have acquired institutional maturation and expanded power in the context of Chinese transitional political economy. This book portrays an innovative pattern of legislative development, sums up pragmatic local strategies for market creation and identifies multiple dynamics for promoting accountability and democracy. Based upon the case study of provincial legislatures, the author reveals the formation of a new mode of governance in China's national politics: the network structure featuring institutional arrangements and the mohe (cooperation through competition) pattern of interaction abided by the major power players. Rejecting the two popular interpretations of China either as a decaying Leninist hierarchy or a likely democratizing nation destined for liberal pluralism, this book presents a more complex but convincing analysis of the transformation of governance in China. It also provides a balanced assessment of China's communist rule, its viability as well as its prospect of democracy. As the first systemic and theoretical study of China's provincial legislatures, this book draws our attention to one of the most promising growth points in China's changing constitutional order. It will interest all students and researchers of Chinese political economy.Read More