LECTURE 19-20: THE PARTY AND THE STATE Flashcards
4 structural preconditions of a revolution
- decrease in state fiscal capacity and increase in pop
- Lack of military control over the territory favouring the emergence of revolts and protests
- Conflicting elites seeking solutions to maintain their independence and power facing external threats
- Multiple foreign influences (Britain and Japan) with competing ideas on how state should be organised
china under Qing
expands territorially, increasing its population but not its resources.
State expanded in terms of farmable land, but because there was no technological change (no increase in productivity) the GDP per capita kept decreasing constantly.Under the Qings, China experiences the collapse of state capacity: the pop is expanding, so at first, the tax base enlarges, but then due to principal-agent problems, increase in size and high monitoring costs, the tax base shrinks and so does the capacity of the state to provide public goods, redistribute, and expand economically.
The decrease in GDP per capita is linked to an increase of uprisings (White Lotus rebellion) which, most times, are inspired by the presence of foreigners on the continent.
history
1842 lost opium war forced to give to Britain and open up to world
response: implementation of a plan for economic recovery through the restoration of traditional institutions and customs.
1984: Sino-Japanese war
Penetration of British in the ports + arrival of Japanese in the North: first attempt to modernization by China. Foreign influence was pivotal Between 1989 and 1900, 2 popular movements promoted China’s return to a strong cultural and political China:
1898: Hundred Day’s reform movement (for the modernization of China on the model of Japan)
1900: Boxer Rebellion (against foreign influence in China)
The Qing responded with a constitutional movement that innovated the Chinese political institutions:
Introduced a constitutional monarchy
local and national assemblies
creation of ministries of education of agriculture and trade
This is the last attempt by the Qing to show the capacity of the state in dealing with modernization.
end of Qing
The Republican period started in 1912 and ended in 1927 and was characterised by:
several attempts to form a National Assembly
Fragmentation of the country
Military occupation of China
Attempts by the GMD to organize and fight back against foreign occupation
GMD rules china
executed the communist allies (companions who belonged to the other party).
For Chiang the country should become a strong capitalist, Westernized, modern country, a picture that is in clear contrast with the future imagined by the CCP. Between 1927-1945: GMD ruled China
China tries to catch up with global industrialization
Important crisis worldwide: the world market does not respond properly to Chinese development
Establish a military regime that increases the control of the central government on previously semi-autonomous western and southern regions
Promoting economic and fiscal reforms targeting the urban centers: new banking systems, expansion of public education and road networks, but no effort made to improve living conditions in the underdeveloped countryside
Inflation on the rise, which burdens a lot on the lower-medium class
CCP in same period
CCP forced to gain support in the country side (original target were urban workers)
Gaining consensus among the peasant population setting up policies of land redistribution
Starting a process of territorial spread (Long March), increasing consensus in the poor regions
Mao Zedong becomes leader of the party in 1935
1937-1945: second Sino-Japanese war
The CCP and GMD formed a new alliance (under the directs of the Soviet Union, the CCP was asked to ally with them so that in case of victory, the CCP could have told a national story not dominated exclusively by the right-wing party of the GMD)
Opposite consequences on the two factions
GMD was way more involved than the CCP in the conflict, which destabilize the grip on power of the party and weakened it, and, since the first conquests of the Japanese were state-owned territories, GMD supports was mined even further (the CCP infiltrated into other territories)
CCP: extension of its political influence in the Manchurian territories, popular and military support obtained by promoting moderate land reforms in the areas under its control.
1945 civil war
1949: Nationalist army forced to retreat to the South and then to Taiwan.
Creation of the People’s Republic of China under the CCP
To sum up, the clash between the GMD and the CCP is not just fiscal (how to manage the state), but also ideological and based on how a state should be managed.
why did CCP succeed
not monocausal:
- The failure of the GMD to keep political power and influence and a true nationalist narrative:
The CCP as a true nationalist party:
The support of the peasantry (and the working class):
The ideology and organisation of the party
The role of Soviet Russia
The failure of the GMD to keep political power and influence and a true nationalist narrative:
nationalist party inspired by liberal democracy ideals coming from modernisation and industrialisation
- didn’t develop a good enough central administration system, relied too much on local leaders which extracted high fees from the population.Rrely on special military organizations which made large use of violence and alienated the urban intellectual class (Unable to mobilize mass support)
- Gmd violence and alienated the urban intellectual class (Unable to mobilize mass support)
* GMD kept engaging in eradication of communism even when allies. This allowed the CCP to create a strong nationalist narrative: not only the GMD was unable to fight back the Japanese (they were much more involved than the CCP), but they were also “turning on Chinese people”. The first determinant of the victory of the CCP was the fail of the GMD to rule the country.
The CCP as a true nationalist party:
nationalist narrative derived from the failure of the GMD leveraging on the failure to increase its consensus among the peasantry.
Narrative: China humiliated by neighboring powers, the GMD as a political power chasing the Communists instead of fighting the enemy and defending China, the CCP as the true protector of the country. Communist revolution meant a comeback of the strength and glory of China in the past: it is presented as the only way of salvation for the country, as the only way to compete with global powers. This:
* Increasing credibility as an alternative to GMD: increased support for the CCP
* Reduced credibility of the GMD as legitimate rulers of China
The support of the peasantry (and the working class):
- urban support: harder to get because CCP relegated to countryside. Spread of nationalist narrative + convincenement of NE regions
- rural support: came from the formation of associations and forcing landlords to reduce rents and taxes while renouncing temporarily to promote deep redistribution reforms to avoid alienating the rural elites
Supported local peasants protests by the creation of a narrative in which the peasant’s requests coincided with the goals of the CCP
The ideology and organisation of the party
CCP re-organised structure of party following the soviet experience: united, loyal to leader and party, hierarchical, confucianism
The role of Soviet Russia
CCP learned a lot from Russian experience: learnt to seek support from urban workers, develop a hierarchical structure with strong ideology, enforce nationalist tale. SR played an active role in shaping directions of CCP, like advice to become GMD ally.
- support foundations of party: providing financial, logistical and organizational support (without, would not have been established so early and not able to continue)
- look at SR model for guidance start to create a soviet-style economy and society, with no other model to follow
how CCP consolidated its power
Unifying the political and administrative structure of the country: new political institutions
Eradicating political opposition: uniform political ideology inside and outside the CCP. Until the mid-1950s Mao adopted a peaceful strategy to avoid undermining support for the party
Completing the land reform: land redistributed from landlords to poor peasants and farm laborer, protection of rich and middle peasant’s possession to avoid undermining support by them to the CCP
Setting up a new economic model and change structure of society: moving from a kinship clan-based society to a centralized, atomized society where all individuals are part of a greater machine in the party.
Social reforms: marriage law, introduce a registry, divorce was harder, and the age to get married was increased. Before marriage was an institution that was totally under control of the lineage (clan) now it is under party’s control
