Understanding China's Regionally Administered Totalitarianism

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Chenggang Xu, Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions and Visiting Fellow at Hoover Institution of Stanford University to discuss the institutional underpinnings of China’s political economy. What explains the Communist Party’s ongoing resilience? Why did China pivot away from the economic reforms that had generated so much wealth for the country and the government? Xu advances the framework of “Regionally Administered Totalitarianism” (RADT) to describe China’s political economic transition during the reform period. He is also author of the forthcoming book Institutional Genes: The Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) exploring these questions.

[@stevenwebbjr7639]

Please have him on again several more times. Great info.

[@lampshadesoapmaker678]

Audio is poor, and I'm having a hard time hearing

[@SeekerAppleSwordSerpent]

When does this book come out and where can it be purchased?

[@Jotto999]

Too quiet, skipping this unfortunately. Please re-upload with fixed audio.

[@patricknowlin7033]

Fantastic, useful frameworks for understanding complex dynamics, like the biological metaphors, bravo!

[@BB-cf9gx]

Excellent interview.

[@janaka861]

Very helpful discussion. Very enlightening.

[@morphkogan8627]

Right right right right right.... right

[@snowwhite9790]

Excellent interview and looking forward to XuChenGang’s new book. China has a long history of centralized government with somewhat regional autonomous flexibility due to its vast area and practical difficulties in administrative tasks. Chinese communist party combined this tradition with Leninist totalitarian methods to “lead everything” in China. I was bought into this romantic notion that China would transform itself with reform and opening up under the same political institutions that massacred its people in 1989. However, I lost my illusion after living in China for over 10 years and witnessed the brutal crackdown of Hong Kong’s umbrella and anti-extradition movement. We are simply fooled by communist party that it can change. It is time to wake up and Xu’s new book will be a good wake up call.

[@chriscain7333]

Wake up and do what exactly? The true horror my friend is, you wake up and discovers that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, apart from talking nonsense online. Sad, but true

[@alanfriesen9837]

When did the Communist party ever say it was going to change?

[@adolft_official]

Start learning Mandarin

[@notinthemoodfornames8033]

@@chriscain7333 aint that the truth, although in my opinion this is almost universally the case: whatever annoys, bugs, or harms you and causes problems in your life, it's usually more efficient to just try to advance yourself to get what you want and solve the problem, such as by career progress, educational opportunities, or simply moving to more favorable environments, than to try to form some kind of social movement and change the whole system.

[@boiscooka232]

Gordon Chang know China better 😂

[@NeostormXLMAX]

you mean the guy saying china would collapse in 2 weeks for the last 40 years?

[@pbworld7858]

Has he collapsed yet?

[@pierren___]

So basically its deconcentrated.

[@Forheavenssake1ify]

Does a "Regionally Administered Totalitarianism" = the emperor as the "Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandate right to rule all under Heaven?

[@aaronho2938]

One want to be truly free, need to start with having their own intelligence apparatus, one that are completely independent of the judicial, health, ccp machinery.

[@tidbit1877]

A free press, free media. Yes, I agree.

[@pbworld7858]

@@tidbit1877 A free press and free media? Well, I hope the people of US and UK are listening.

[@yunzhang9471]

😂whoever pay for your “strategy and information “ are definitely some less smart people

[@trustmeiknow1]

Too many armchair students of China 😅

[@muralepillai2594]

The issue is not Chinese political system/s but the lack of compassion in Chinese society generally. Because of centuries of strong central government, the average Chinese is selfish, comfortable with ruthless mercantilism and cares little for the welfare of others. How else can we explain that although the Chinese have contributed much to SEA, they are not loved or respected.

[@r4ybc]

You get what you give.

[@xfactor6099]

says the american🤣🤣🤣

[@adolft_official]

Endian Pajjeet, Keep the streets clean and respect women

[@thexian]

correct

[@user-ms5ss2yp2e]

Democracy is only as good if the transparency and honesty of the citizens within it. Communism is ideal for agrarian to modern transition. Socialism is good for culture and the collective. China opaque government allows them to use a combination of above and test optimization.

[@redhidinghood9337]

What you're thinking is monarchy/oligarchy, which include dictatorships and one-party states. They can be good for very underdeveloped and uneducated countries. Communism and socialism are horrible and we can see what happened under Mao when it was being implemented. It destroyed the economy, people's lives, and culture. No surprise the chinese are the least civilized out of the east asian cultures - they disgarded their tradition for Marxist ideology

[@kooisengchng5283]

China does not follow any --ism. It is a pragmatic style dedicated to uplift the huge population above the poverty line. As Deng Xiao Peng said, it is not the colour of the cat, as long as it catches the mice. The West slavishly follow "democracy" when it is not even close.

[@zd1322]

Barf

[@user-ms5ss2yp2e]

@@zd1322 Jealousy is the work of the Devil. Disrespect is a signal of where YOU sit on the evolutionary ladder like snakes and ladder pass DO NOT collect from this life into the next.

[@bullpup1337]

@@user-ms5ss2yp2eomg just stop

[@kammantom]

$8 billion spent for propaganda by lettered degree people.😂

[@chriscain7333]

Yet, there is not a single thing you can do about them now is there? Talking bs on yutube aint change nothing, no action, just words, and you expect words kill your enemy for you.

[@r4ybc]

Manufacturing consent. Dehumanise the Other. Claim the moral highground. Stoke regional conflict. Project the violent intentions of our domination onto the target. Fund thinktanks such as this to support these tasks

[@chriscain7333]

@@r4ybc all has been done, none prevailed, led to endless nothingness and now bestowed upon your civilization is but a void. You will start to question yourself just like what we did 200 years ago, what we have been through is due for you too. Time is nigh.

[@hendrasutrisno4191]

Why? Ccp also begin with talking and writing(Li Dazhao& Chen Duxiu)

[@chriscain7333]

@@hendrasutrisno4191 first of all, you couldn't even address enermys name properly, let alone understand them, you are nothing but a larp, and a stupid one. You have zero idea how the revolution began, and how much it cost, ignorant of your own ignorance, purchase some rudimentary education can relieve you from the pain of such rare degree of mental retardation. Even what you have hopelessly hopping for were presumably true, to what end exactly? Parliamentary system? The one that the chinese have tried, improved upon, realizes its primitive nature, and abandoned it 4000 years ago? One simply does not go back into the caves unfortunately. I really hope all these efforts did something to you, as it is extremely difficult to present and lay on basic knowledge and facts on to you with dinosaurs and flowers, if thats more of your level of cognitive sense.

[@BruceWSims]

I would never say that democracy works for everybody. Countries with generations of autocratic rule have a real problem with being responsible for their own fortunes (see: Russia). President XI Jinping is what China needs right now, but the downside is the inability to guarentee a successor of equal ability and Character. Right now the PRC is playing catch-up, much like Russia and there will be some issues of conflict. May it please God that diplomacy will continue to prevail. 😊😊😊😊

[@redhidinghood9337]

Xi is the last thing china needs. They should have started with graduation democratization (like in the process in taiwan) after Dengs rule but they failed and now the country is gonna go down so the party and Xin can thrive.

[@RacoonLord-mt9hv]

China is a lot of things but it is not totalitarian.

[@anwiycti1585]

It’s totalitarian-dreaming-to-be but never successful 😂😂😂

[@tidbit1877]

Yes it is.

[@RacoonLord-mt9hv]

@@tidbit1877 Mao's China was certainly.

[@raymondrust9084]

Xi thinks the Cultural Revolution was a character builder! That's his frame of reference. He's Mao 2.0

[@adolft_official]

@@raymondrust9084 Cultural Revolution was a method to clean british spies

[@marvhan888]

pekingology. what words is that. so lame

[@jacksonwong90]

Just leave china alone stop talking about china non stop every second hour day months years , just leave china alone .

[@bullpup1337]

if only they left the rest of us alone

[@jacksonwong90]

@@bullpup1337 ,, china did not park any rotten ship in Philippine waters for 25 years , ✔️ na did not send any military equipment into any china ship , did not t enters into Philippine sea provoking Philippine security and soverignty , all these are works of Philippine not china , but cunning , crooked , evil , demonic Philippine obviously create trouble , fabricate lies accuse china in everything Philippine did pH is the culprit pretends and act as victim , GOD is watching n listening .

[@xfactor6099]

@@bullpup1337 they not holding you. Tell the USA to leave the rest of us alone especially my country Nigeria.

[@bullpup1337]

@@xfactor6099 sorry to disappoint but noone cares about nigeria (princes or otherwise)

[@xfactor6099]

@@bullpup1337 It is a privilege or it will be a privilege not to be cared about by the USA and europe. Lol. Because the USA is like the devil roaming around like a roaring lion, seeking for whom to devow. I will be more concerned if the rest of the global south dont care about us but they do especially our African brothers. I could care about the godless, g@y, fertility declining west. lol