The People’s
Republic of China
Sovereignty,
Authority, and Power
Presentation Outline
I.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Sovereignty, Authority, and Power
state, regimes, and nations
sovereignty
sources of legitimacy
political culture
I. a) state, regimes, and nations
Review: What is the difference between state, regime,
and nation?
• The Chinese state has been around in one form
or another for well over three thousand years
• It is one of the oldest continuous states in the
world
Territorial Evolution of the Chinese state
Song Dynasty
Circa 960
Qing
Dynasty
Circa 1820
Ming Dynasty
Circa 1415
China since
1949
Regimes
There are three distinct regime periods in
Chinese history:
1) Dynastic rule (*each dynasty itself was a
new regime), 1000 C.E.- 1911
2) Republican rule, 1911-1949
3) Communist rule, 1949-present
For furthering reading into Chinese dynasties and
regimes see:
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/history.htm
The People’s Republic of China
Current Features of the Regime:
• Authoritarian
• One-Party state (Communist Party)
• Limited political reforms/major economic reforms
(we will discuss these later)
Left: Mao Zedong formally announces
the establishment of the People’s
Republic of China
Nations
China has 56 officially recognized nations
The dominant nation is the Han which
compromises over 90% of the population.
Most political scientists would consider China
a nation (Han)-state
Breakdown:
Han: 91.9%
Uyghur, Tibetan, Hui,
Minorities: 8.1%
Zhuang, Mongolian,
Korean, Miao...
Source: CIA Factbook (2012)
What connection can you
make between China’s
population density and the
location of its ethnic
minorities?
I. b) Sovereignty
• Sovereignty has long been an important concept and
theme in Chinese politics and history
• The current regime can boast that it is the only one in
the last several hundred years which has held full
sovereignty over the mainland Chinese territory/state
• Before the establishment of the People’s Republic of
China many foreign states had carved out spheres of
influence in China thereby challenging the sovereignty
of the Qing and Republican regimes
• China is a unitary state with no devolved powers to the
regions.
• China has 33 provinces/administrative/autonomous
regions
• Each province/administrative region has a Communist
Party, local government, and reports directly to Beijing
• China also has five autonomous regions. These are
regions where a substantial proportion of the population
consists of a particular minority nation such as the
Tibetans. Autonomous regions are nominally
autonomous, have limited legislative powers , but do
have some latitude in minority language education
rights.
Chinese provinces and administrative cities/regions
Five autonomous regions
Hong Kong and Macau
• Hong Kong (British) and Macau (Portuguese) were former
European colonies that were returned to China near the end of
the twentieth century.
• They are both considered special administrative zones. They
have a great deal of autonomy under the One Country Two
Systems policy. They still exist at the will of the mainland.
• The mainland only controls defence and foreign affairs.
• Macau and Hong Kong have their own monetary, legal, and
government systems, and control over their own
immigration
China is a strong state
• The activities of NGOs and supranational
organizations are circumscribed (limited) by
the Chinese government
• Nevertheless, China has joined the WTO
(2001) and thus must comply with WTO trade
regulations
• China has also been under pressure to revalue
and appreciate its Yuan currency
How is China similar to Russia in this regard of
being a strong state?
Chinese influence
• China has tremendous influence on the world stage.
• Like Russia and the United Kingdom, it is a
permanent member of the U.N. Security Council
• China has the second largest economy in the world
and is a major trading partner with many states. China
has used its economic influence for
political/diplomatic purposes by forcing its trading
partners to accept the One China policy, further
marginalizing Taiwan
Is Taiwan a state?
China’s Claim over Taiwan
The official stance of the government of the People’s
Republic of China is that there is only one Chinese
state and that Taiwan is a province of China, and
does NOT constitute a separate state.
There are two rival theories on the definition of
statehood which are worth considering:
Constitutive Theory
Declarative Theory
-developed in the 19th century
-A state is only sovereign
when it is recognized by other
sovereign states
-Being admitted to the United
Nations would constitute
recognition
-Developed in the 2oth
century
-To be considered a state the
following requirements must
be met:
a) a defined territory
b) a permanent population
c) a political authority
Source:
http://www.lawnotes.in/Recog
nition_of_a_State
I. c) Sources of Legitimacy
1) Traditional: dynastic rule
2) Charismatic: Mao Zedong’s period, 19491976
3) Legitimacy Today:
a) attempts at rational-legal legitimacy
b) economic stability and prosperity
Traditional Legitimacy
How would you define
traditional legitimacy?
• Based on the mandate of
Heaven, the emperor was said to
have the divine right of kings.
• He was considered the Son of
Heaven.
• The emperor was to be obeyed
because his authority, it was
believed, came from Heaven.
Charismatic legitimacy
How would you define charismatic legitimacy?
Mao Zedong created a cult of personality and huge
following among the Chinese peasantry, from the
Long March through the Cultural Revolution.
Long March, 1934
Cultural Revolution, 1966
Legitimacy Today
Attempts at rational-legal legitimacy
•
•
•
1982 Basic Law (Constitution)
1979 Legal Code
semi-competitive village elections
Villagers vote for
members to the
Local People’s
Congress
Legitimacy Today
Economic Stability and Prosperity
• Since Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms in
the early 1980s China’s GDP and living
standards have increased at an exponential
rate. The regime is quick to credit itself for
China’s recent economic success.
This ain’t Mao’s China!
I. d) Political Culture
• Confucianism
• Guanxi
• Restricted but active civil society
Confucianism
Chinese
Philosopher
Confucius: 551479 B.C.E
• Deeply rooted philosophical tradition of
respect for authority, within the family, within
a company, and within the state.
• Confucianism does not mean blind obedience,
but rather a reverence and respect for authority
and authority figures.
• Authority figures, in turn, should act with
honour, virtue, and compassion
• Regimes throughout Chinese history have used
or manipulated Confucianism to ensure
compliance and deter criticisms
Japan and South Korea were also influenced by Confucian values. Yet these
two states developed democracies. Does Confucianism encourage or hinder
democratization?
Guanxi
• Guanxi has no direct English translation. The best
definition which approximates the concept is relations
or connections
• Guanxi centers around building a network of
relationships which will bring economic, political,
and status “face” gains.
• This has also created a patron-client system in China
and fostered corruption.
• The more a patron helps a client, the more the client
is expected to provide and vice versa
• Guanxi may also be considered a form of social
capital
• The more guanxi one has obtained, the more
opportunities one will have in China
Guanxi explained:
Typical
Example:
Chinese businessman
and citizen
“Client”
The Patron and Client now have guanxi
with each other.
10,000 Yuan bribe or “gift”
Zoning permit granted to build large
apartment complexes
Communist
Party
Official
“Patron”
Restricted but active civil society
• The Chinese are not apathetic.
• They have organized religious, cultural, antigovernment, and environmental groups.
• They are also known for spontaneous uprisings to
make their voices heard.
• Their actions, however, are heavily restricted by
the Communist Party
• China has on average 500 protests a day, most in
the countryside, and most on a small scale.
Source:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/how-china-staysstable-despite-500-protests-every-day/250940/
Tiananmen Square
Student Demonstrations,
1989
Protestors demanding
the release of
democracy activist Liu
Xiaobo in Beijing, 2010
10,000 Falun Gong
practitioners in
Beijing, 1999
Wukan villagers protest corruption in
Southern China, 2011
Sad and angry mothers mourn the
loss of their children and demand
that officials be held accountable
for faulty construction in the wake
of the Sichuan earthquake, 2008
Young residents in Dalian
protest a chemical leak
from a factory and
demand that the
government take action,
2011
Discussion Questions
1) China and the U.K. Are both unitary states. In
which ways are they similar and different with
respect to state power?
2) Why has the concept of sovereignty been
central to the Chinese political discourse?
3) China is attempting rational-legal legitimacy. To
what extent have these attempts been
successful?
4) Compare and Contrast Chinese and Russian
political culture. Would Democracy work in
China? How would it look, function?