The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century

The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century

Stein Ringen - Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Oxford

Monday, September 12, 2016 - 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Room 203, Henry R. Luce Hall See map
34 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 06511

The Chinese system is like no other known to man, now or in history. By analysing the leadership of Xi Jinpingthe meaning of ‘socialist market economy’, corruption, the party-state apparatus, the reach of the party, the mechanisms of repression, taxation and public services, and state-society relations, this book explains how the system works and where it may be moving. 

Drawing on Chinese and international sources, on extensive collaboration with Chinese scholars, and on the political science of state analysis, the author concludes that under the new leadership of Xi Jinping, the system of government has been transformed into a new regime radically harder and more ideological than the legacy of Deng Xiaoping. China is less strong economically and more dictatorial politically than the world has wanted to believe.


Stein Ringen, a Norwegian political scientist, is emeritus professor at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, where he from 1990 held the chair in sociology and social policy, and an affiliate of St Antony’s College, Oxford.

Book signing to follow

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