June Teufel Dreyer

Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

jdreyer@miami.edu (305) 284-2403 LOCATOR CODE: 6534

JUNE TEUFEL DREYER is Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, where she teaches courses on China, U.S. defense policy, and international relations. Professor Dreyer has lectured to, and taught a course for, National Security Agency analysts, consults for organizations including the National Geographic and Centra Technology. She is a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a member of International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Formerly senior Far East specialist at the Library of Congress, Dr. Dreyer has also served as Asia policy advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations and as commissioner of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission established by the U.S. Congress. Dr Dreyer’s most recent book, Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese Relations Past and Present, was published by Oxford University Press in 2016. The tenth edition of her China’s Political System: Modernization and Tradition, is scheduled for publication in 2018. Professor Dreyer received her BA from Wellesley College and her MA and PhD from Harvard, and has lived in China and Japan and paid numerous visits to Taiwan. She has served as a United States Information Agency lecturer, speaking in fourteen Asia-Pacific states. Professor Dreyer has published widely on the Chinese military, Asian-Pacific security issues, China-Taiwan relations, Sino-Japanese relations, ethnic minorities in China, and Chinese foreign policy. In 2017, she received the University of Miami’s faculty senate award as Distinguished Research Professor.

China's Political System Modernization and Tradition

By June Teufel Dreyer 2019

China’s Political System provides a concise introduction to the political, economic, and social factors that determine China's government. Highly respected specialist June Teufel Dreyer offers expert analysis of the challenges facing China's economic, legal, military, social, and cultural institutions while examining the historical context and current trends. China's Political System asks readers to think about the broader problem of governance and mordernization in China and their global implications by comprehensively showing how the past and present impact leaders, citizens, ethnic minorities, and policies.

New to the Tenth Edition:

the first text to incorporate results from the Nineteenth Party Congress and Thirteenth National People's Congress.
includes a new chapter on developments under Xi Jinping
considers the effects of slowing economic growth on politics and society
addresses recent Chinese assertiveness in military and foreign policy

The tenth edition of China’s Political System continues to provide all of the tools professors need to introduce their students to Chinese politics in ways that are informed, accessible, and intriguing.

Introduction
The Chinese Tradition
Reformers, Warlords, and Communists
PRC Politics Under Mao: 1949–1976
Deng Xiaoping and His Protégés: 1976–2012
The Era of Xi Jinping
The Politics of the Economy
Crime and Punishment: The Legal System of the PRC
The Role of the Military
Education
Quality-of-Life Issues: Health, Demography, and the Environment
Conformity and Dissent: The Arts, the Media, and Social Control
Ethnic Minorities and National Integration
Foreign Policy
Conclusions
Useful Websites

Chapter 1|23 pages

Introduction

Chapter 1 describes the dilemma nineteenth-century Chinese intellectuals faced in contemplating their country’s inability to resist Western and, later, Japanese encroachment; given their belief in the absolute superiority of Chinese culture, what, and how much, could it borrow from these outsiders in order to defeat them. It identifies the major theories of analysis of post-1949 Chinese politics, and analyzes the strong and weak points of each as explanatory and predictive factors. It also considers the arguments for and against Chinese exceptionalism.

Chapter 2|22 pages

The Chinese Tradition

Chapter 2 identifies the major characteristics of pre-modern Chinese civilization; introduces readers to the major contending “Hundred Schools” of philosophy---Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, Buddhism, Yin-Yang---and the eventual synthesis of many of their characteristics into Confucianism. It considers the reasons behind the failure of this system to adapt to the challenges of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Chapter 3|30 pages

Reformers, Warlords, and Communists

This chapter discusses the specific strategies through which the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Chinese empire attempted to confront external challenges and the impediments to implementing them; analyzes the difficulties facing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) as it attempted to govern China; identifies the factors that enhanced the attractiveness of Marxism as a governing system for China and the challenges of adapting it; discusses the major characteristics of the Yan’an model and their significance for post-1949 China; and evaluates the effect of the Japanese invasion on the outcome of the Chinese civil war.

Chapter 4|28 pages

PRC Politics Under Mao: 1949–1976

This chapter describes the issues the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faced in extending its rule over China as a whole; evaluates the efficacy of the measures implemented by the CCP to cope with these issues; analyzes the factors that induced Mao Zedong to implement the disastrous policies of the anti-rightist campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution; and discusses Mao’s declining years and their impact on China’s social and economic well-being.

Chapter 5|31 pages

Deng Xiaoping and His Protégés: 1976–2012

This chapter examines the techniques by which Deng Xiaoping undermined the ability of Hua Guofeng to continue as Mao’s allegedly chosen successor; identifies the basic characteristics of Deng’s Four Modernizations program and their accomplishments; and analyzes the problems that the reforms created for successor Chinese leaders.

Chapter 6|13 pages

The Era of Xi Jinping

This chapter details the high-level intrigues that preceded the Eighteenth Party Congress at which Xi Jinping was formally anointed as China’s most powerful leader. It discusses Xi’s subsequent efforts to centralize all centers of power under himself, thereby reversing a previous trend toward the evolution of collective decision making in the standing committee of the politburo. It also discusses Xi’s introduction of “the China dream” and of fostering a cult of personality around himself. It describes the brief attempts at resistance and summarizes the accomplishments of his far-reaching campaign against corruption and the sweeping reforms he instituted in the military. The Nineteenth Party Congress not only gave Xi a second five year term, as expected, but it also amended the party constitution to raise his status to that of Mao Zedong and over all previous party leaders, apart from Mao. A subsequent amendment abolished the two-term limit, enabling Xi to stay on indefinitely.

Chapter 7|29 pages

The Politics of the Economy

This chapter identifies the methods by which the CCP brought China under centralized control: the collectivization of agriculture and industrial production, the reasons behind the introduction of the disastrous Great Leap Forward, and the measures taken to recoup losses. It discusses the disruptive effects of the Cultural Revolution, followed by economic stasis, and Deng Xiaoping’s efforts to put the PRC on the path to economic prosperity, but at the cost of creating new problems such as widening income gaps, massive corruption, and worsening pollution. It introduces the ambitious one-belt-one-road rule to make China the fulcrum of an international trading network, mentioning factors that could prevent the plan from reaching its goal. It also discusses the current economic slowdown, and efforts by the central government to soften its effects, as well as cope with deteriorating local government finances.

Chapter 8|25 pages

Crime and Punishment

The Legal System of the PRC

This chapter discusses the reasons the CCP was initially suspicious of law; introduces the competing societal and jural models of legal systems and the vacillation between them in the first few decades after the founding of the PRC; the reinstatement of a legal system under Deng; discusses the need for the law in commercial transactions that were critical to China’s economic development; and distinguishes competing views of natural rights versus instrumental rights. The trial process, penal system, and role of mediation are described, as are petitions; reform through labor; “black jails” and “sheltering for examination” (shoushen), the latter now theoretically abolished; and “dual detention” (shuanggui) for party members. Professional standards in courts have improved, but local protectionism is widespread in the legal system, as is corruption. Laws are often not obeyed. Effects of the “strike hard” and anti-corruption campaigns are discussed. The CCP remains above the law.

Chapter 9|25 pages

The Role of the Military

This chapter identifies the major characteristics of the Maoist model of the military and the difficulties of applying this model in the post-1949 geopolitical context. It discusses efforts to find the proper balance between the societal and professional roles of the military and the effects of the Sino–Soviet dispute, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution on the PRC’s military modernization. The poor performance of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the 1979 war with Vietnam underscored the need for greater professionalism. Since the cost of the war forced the cancellation of some economic projects, Deng Xiaoping urged the PLA to become involved in civilian economic production. This, however, facilitated a massive increase in corruption within the military. Jiang Zemin severed the PLA’s connection with the civilian economy, but the separation was imperfect; Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign has revealed shocking abuses of power. At the same time, expanded PLA budgets since 1989 have created a military that, though not battle-tested, is equipped with increasingly lethal state-of-the-art weapons.

Chapter 10|23 pages

Education

This chapter discusses the CCP’s goals for its educational system and the ways in which they were implemented, as well as difficulties in deciding how much of the curriculum should be devoted to inculcating socialist values versus academic expertise, and the effects of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution on educational standards. It also discusses the return of rigorous academic standards under Deng Xiaoping, and discomfort with the urban bias of the system, with elitist public schools and expensive private schools for the wealthy, corruption in admissions, and with the content of the examination system itself. Expansion of the tertiary sector meant a lowering of standards at some institutions, with many college graduates unable to find jobs in their fields. Pressure for world-class recognition led some professors to make false claims. Xi Jinping’s concern with strict conformity to his interpretation of socialist ideology has had a chilling effect on academic discourse.

Chapter 11|22 pages

Quality-of-life Issues

Health, Demography, and the Environment

This chapter introduces the interlocking issues of health, demography, and environmental factors in China’s modernization. Mao-era mass health campaigns achieved some successes despite being interrupted by the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. Barefoot doctors and medical care were based on one’s collective. After the end of collectivization, health care deteriorated; once eradicated diseases returned. Prosperity created new problems, since people are smoking, drinking, and eating more unhealthy food. Current efforts aim to provide basic health care insurance for all, but the PRC’s health care is nonetheless rated among the least equitably distributed in the world.

By the late 1970s, it was realized that Confucian notions about large families, and Marx’s idea that under socialism there would be enough for all, were not serving China well. A one-child policy was instituted and often draconically enforced. An unintended consequence was severe gender imbalance, since most parents preferred that their one child be male. That and the end of China’s demographic dividend of young workers have resulted in a relaxation of family planning restrictions.

Rapid modernization led to rapid deterioration of the PRC’s environment: China is the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases and home to nine out of ten of the world’s most polluted cities. Belatedly addressing the problem, the government is attempting to introduce less smog-producing forms of energy and plans to build “green cities.”

Chapter 12|22 pages

Conformity and Dissent

The Arts, the Media, and Social Control

This chapter identifies the Maoist concept of the role of literature and the arts in creating the ideal socialist society and the tensions it caused between the party and members of the PRC’s literary and artistic community. The CCP’s changing views on what was acceptable created uncertainty; some have chosen to self-censor, others to test the limits of the party’s tolerance. Following the Tiananmen demonstrations, the party state’s concern with instability resulted in progressive decreases in freedom of expression. The leadership reacted to the rapid spread of social media through a variety of censorship methods, most recently employing artificial intelligence techniques to track and record citizens’ movements and opinions. In an ongoing cat-and-mouse game, motivated individuals continue to seek ways to evade these controls.

Chapter 13|33 pages

Ethnic Minorities and National Integration

This chapter differentiates pluralist from assimilationist theories of integration, tracing the CCP’s efforts to base policy on one, then the other, with unsatisfactory results on both. Pluralism, which allows minorities to keep their languages, cultures, and dress, has been found to work against the emergence of a more homogenous, and therefore putatively more loyal, population. Assimilationist policies, however, have deepened many minorities’ sense of resentment, sometimes taking the form of rebellion or, more lately in Tibet, self-immolation as a form of protest. Current policy is best described as pluralist in form but assimilationist in practice. Suggestions that the system of special privileges for minorities be abolished have thus far made little headway. Ethnic minorities who were restive under imperial China remain the most dissatisfied today, but, in the absence of the unlikely unraveling of the PRC state, are unlikely to achieve either true autonomy or actual independence.

Chapter 14|28 pages

Foreign Policy

This chapter traces the evolution of the PRC’s foreign relations from close alignment with the Soviet bloc (the “lean to one side” period) through an accommodationist policy with Third World states (the Bandung era, with its adoption of the Pancha Shila, or Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence) followed by belligerent semi-isolation and, finally, entry into the international system, where China is now a dominant player. The PRC’s recent military and diplomatic assertiveness, particularly with regard to the East China and South China seas, when combined with the country’s economic power, have caused concerns among many other states. They are, however, constrained in taking action either individually or by coalition formation, since their economic prosperity is, to varying degrees, dependent on good relations with China.

Chapter 15|14 pages

Conclusions

This chapter sets forth the criteria by which the government system of the PRC can be evaluated and identifies the most probable scenarios for the future, assessing the likelihood that each will come to pass. It introduces the concepts of the trapped transition, state capacity, authoritarian resilience, and the “controlocracy.” It considers the argument that one party rule is incompatible with a market economy, which requires a democratic system, as well as the counterargument that one-party rule with limited market reforms is not only sustainable but the best path for China. Should the latter take place, the PRC may be said to have evolved a new variant of development that can fairly be called modernity with Chinese characteristics.

About June Teufel Dreyer

Senior Fellow - Asia Program

Member, Board of Editors - Orbis

Research Areas:

China's political system, Sino-Japanese relations (past and present)

June Teufel Dreyer is a Senior Fellow in the Asia Program at FPRI and Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. Formerly senior Far East Specialist at the Library of Congress, she has also served as Asia policy advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations and as commissioner of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Dr. Dreyer received her Bachelor's degree from Wellesley and M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard. Dr. Dreyer is the author of China's Political System: Modernization and Tradition currently is in its tenth edition, as well as Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese Relations Past and Present, which was honored with the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals award for the best book of year on Japan. Dr. Dreyer has lectured widely in international fora, received numerous teaching awards, and serves on the board of editors of Orbis and the Journal of Contemporary China.

Books

China's Political System June Teufel Dreyer

June Teufel Dreyer

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