A Democratic Audit of China

Paper Summary:

Through a detailed analysis of 3 key topics from the democratic assessment framework in application to China, this paper attempts to understand how China is today a country still far removed from the promise of democracy. The paper looks at how important the issues of collective identity/citizenship, the rule of law, and economic rights are to the future of China and recognizes that it is difficult to come to a conclusion since China is still fundamentally an authoritarian state in which power is monopolized by the political-economic elite.

Outline:
Introduction
Nationhood and Citizenship
The Rule of Law and Access to Justice
Economic and Social Rights
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"It must be acknowledged that this development of an authoritarian economic state was essential to the survival of China's ruling elite in the wake of the global collapse of communism in the early 1990s (Huang 54). In this analysis, it is was primarily through the ruling political elite's reaching out to the emerging business classes and co-opting them that allowed the Chinese system to survive the collapse of communism as an ideological system. However, it must be acknowledged that this has occurred at a great cost as one of the consequences of the development of this new elite has been a marked increase in corruption that parallels economic dislocation for much of the population (Fuller 152)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Democratic Assessment Framework. Accessed: March 4, 2007http://www.democraticaudit.com/auditing_democracy/assessmentframework.php
• Derbyshire, John. "Communist, Nationalist and Dangerous: The Problem of China." National Review. 53 (2001): 1-5.
• Fewsmith, Joseph. "The Political and Social Implications of China's Accession to the WTO." China Quarterly, 2002.
• Fuller, Graham. "The Next Ideology." Foreign Policy. 98 (1995): 145-154.
• Huang, Yasheng. "Why China Will Not Collapse." Foreign Policy. 99 (1995): 54-62.

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