Institute of Political Science at Academia Sinica

In the beginning of this century, China has emerged as a fast-growing big power by emulating the development experiences of its East Asian neighbors, but at the same time also kept its party-state political structure intact. Such a rare way of economic rise has startled many countries in the world. However, on the other hand, such growth is also accompanied by a fast opening gap between rich and poor as well as rampant corruption and unbridled misdeeds by the officials. These phenomena pose daunting challenges to the legitimacy of the party-state of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). How should we characterize such a regime? How would it transform?

Under the initiation of the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica (IPSAS), The Transmutation of the CCP Party-State (in Chinese) newly published by Wunan Publisher in Taipei has directly tackled these questions. This book is coauthored by many well known scholars (mostly from Taiwan) of Chinese politics and is focused specifically on how the internal logics of the CCP regime such as elite succession and central local interaction evolve, and how these logics then generate complicated positive and negative policy outcomes. With systematic and logical explanations, this book helps readers to effectively grasp the complicated and seemingly contradictory phenomenon of today’s Chinese politics.

At the dawn of the Seventeenth Party Congress of the CCP, the publication of this book provides a best guide to understand the dynamics of Chinese politics. With succinct interpretations and penetrating analyses, this book is a timely reader not only for the students, teachers, and researchers of Chinese politics, but also for general public who are concerned about the development of China.