Social science theories in search of Chinese realities: Review essay
In: The China quarterly: an international journal for the study of China, Heft 132, S. 1161-1170
ISSN: 0305-7410, 0009-4439
L. Pye reviews the books "From bandwagon to balance-of-power politics: structural constraints on politics in China, 1949-1978" by A. Goldstein; "Political reform in post-Mao China; democracy and bureaucracy in a Leninist state" by B. McCormick; "Reform without liberalization; China's National People's Congress and the politics of institutional change" by K. O'Brien and "Brushes with power: modern politics and the Chinese art of calligraphy" by R. Kraus. Pye believes that the application of contemporary disciplinary theories to Chinese developments can be a tricky business. He elaborates this argument by juxtaposing theories and "reality" in the works of the four authors. (DÜI-Sen)