Political mobility of Chinese regional leaders: performance, preference, promotion

A monarch is usually born, a member of parliament or a president is usually elected, but a regional leader in China is usually orchestrated to replace his or her predecessor through an opaque process and for reasons not normally made public. The professional trajectories of Chinese regional leaders are mysterious in many ways. Their promotions and demotions can be "predictable" in terms of their age, gender, nationality, education, factions, and previous engagements in the political system. Yet, speaking of their capability, performance, opportunities and arrangements, their future can also be "unexpected". Such arrangements are always originated from the Organization (zuzhi) which represents the Chinese Communist Party. What are the factors the organization considers in order to make its final decisions on nominating and appointing a regional leader? Today's regional leaders of China will very likely become the central leaders of China in the future. By making an empirical analysis of Chinese regional leaders' political mobility, Qiao establishes a descriptive political mobility model that reveals leadership trajectories in Chinese politics

A monarch is usually born, a member of parliament or a president is usually elected, but a regional leader in China is usually orchestrated to replace his or her predecessor through an opaque process and for reasons not normally made public. The professional trajectories of Chinese regional leaders are mysterious in many ways. Their promotions and demotions can be "predictable" in terms of their age, gender, nationality, education, factions, and previous engagements in the political system. Yet, speaking of their capability, performance, opportunities and arrangements, their future can also be "unexpected". Such arrangements are always originated from the Organization (zuzhi) which represents the Chinese Communist Party. What are the factors the organization considers in order to make its final decisions on nominating and appointing a regional leader?Today's regional leaders of China will very likely become the central leaders of China in the future. By making an empirical analysis of Chinese regional leaders' political mobility, Qiao establishes a descriptive political mobility model that reveals leadership trajectories in Chinese politics.

chapter 1 Introduction -- chapter 2 The Chinese regional leaders: who are they? -- chapter 3 The recruitment and political mobility of Chinese regional leaders -- chapter 4 Regional leadership selections in contemporary China: qualifi cations and preferences -- chapter 5 Fiscal revenues, geopolitical settings, and political mobility of Chinese regional leaders -- chapter 6 For the harmonious society: downgraded and demoted regional leaders -- chapter 7 Conclusions.

Conclusion: regional leaders under the mobility whip4 Regional leadership selections in contemporary China: qualifications and preferences; Biological and personal backgrounds; Organizational and professional backgrounds; Conclusion; 5 Fiscal revenues, geopolitical settings, and political mobility of Chinese regional leaders; Regional political importance evaluated through the levels of socioeconomic development; Previous posts and chief leadership experiences of Chinese regional leaders; Toward the political and geopolitical patterns of political mobility among Chinese regional leaders.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction -- Why are regional leaders in China important? -- Why study the political mobility of regional leaders? -- Variables and hypotheses -- Regional leaders' political mobility as the outcome -- Data and methods -- 2 The Chinese regional leaders: who are they? -- Studies of Chinese regional leaders and their careers -- Typologies of Chinese regional leaders -- Conclusion -- 3 The recruitment and political mobility of Chinese regional leaders -- Defining political mobility -- Measuring regional leaders' political mobility -- Conclusion: regional leaders under the mobility whip -- 4 Regional leadership selections in contemporary China: qualifications and preferences -- Biological and personal backgrounds -- Organizational and professional backgrounds -- Conclusion -- 5 Fiscal revenues, geopolitical settings, and political mobility of Chinese regional leaders -- Regional political importance evaluated through the levels of socioeconomic development -- Previous posts and chief leadership experiences of Chinese regional leaders -- Toward the political and geopolitical patterns of political mobility among Chinese regional leaders -- Conclusion: Chinese political elites "on the go" -- 6 For the harmonious society: downgraded and demoted regional leaders -- Downward political mobility analysis of regional leaders in the post-Deng Xiaoping era -- Geopolitical preferences and regional leaders' political resilience -- Conclusion: the regime's configuration of regional leaders' political mobility -- 7 Conclusions -- The people: judging the regime by its elites -- The elites: between the regime and the people -- The regime: ruling the people with the elites -- Selected bibliography -- Index