Suchergebnisse

Thirty years ago contemporary China studies in Scandinavia was largely an unknown phenomenon. Most sinologists worked on aspects of traditional sinology such as historical phonology, classical religion, philosophy and linguistics, and contemporary studies were seen as a rather shallow preoccupation which could be left safely in the hands of journalists and diplomats. However, as the public interest in contemporary China studies in Scandinavia grew and as development economists, political scientists and sociologists began to encroach on the China field, it increasingly became difficult to limit Chinese studies to classical pursuits. Today the contemporary China field in Scandinavia has grown strong and active and consists of approximately 90 active scholars. In most Scandinavian institutes classical studies occupy a dominant position in terms of faculty staff, but new positions are increasingly established within the contemporary field, where one also finds the majority of new Ph.D. projects.

The book is based on the hypothesis that a systematic analysis of the Chinese economic discourse is necessary in order to understand the underlying logic of Chinese economic development. The majority of works on the subject see China's economic development as a linear process of marketization or "growing out of the plan". In contradistinction to the prevailing paradigm, this book underlines that basic economic issues such as over-investment and unbalanced development continue to frame economic policy-making. The book is also unique in basing the narrative on a rich collection of Chinese language material.