Suchergebnisse

THIS ESSAY EXAMINES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC REFORM AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN POST-MAO CHINA, IT ARGUES THAT WHILE ECONOMIC REFORM IN CHINA HAS BEEN CLOSELY LINKED WITH RATIONALIZATION AND INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM, IT HAS BY NO MEANS DIRECTLY ENGENDERED PLURALISM AND DEMOCRATIZATION. IT CONCLUDES THAT POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CHINA ARE BETTER EXPLAINED BY BY TRAUMAS OF THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION AND POWER STRUGGLE THAN BY "OPENNESS."

THIS ARTICLE DEMONSTRATES THAT AN ECONOMIC POLICY COMMUNITY CAME INTO EXISTENCE IN CHINA OF THE EARLY 1960'S AND THAT IT WAS ABLE TO SERVE AS A MECHANISM FOR EXPERTS' IDEAS TO EXERT SOME INFLUENCE ON POLICY OUTCOMES. IT SHOWS THAT LEADERSHIP PREDISPOSITIONS, AS MUCH AS STATE STRUCTURE, DETERMINE THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF POLICY COMMUNITIES AND THE INFLUENCE OF EXPERTS.

IN THIS ARTICLE, THE GOAL HAS BEEN TO CONVINCE SCHOLARS OF COMPARATIVE PUBLIC POLICY MAKING THAT THE POLICY-COMMUNITIES APPROACH IS BOTH INTERESTING AND ILLUMINATING. THE AUTHORS ARE PERSUADED OF THE LEARNING VALUE OF EXAMINING POLICY COMMUNITIES IN QUITE DISPARATE CONTEXTS - EVEN ACROSS DEMOCRATIC AND AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEMS - AND HOW WELL THIS APPROACH INTEGRATES THE SEPARATE CONCERNS OF HOW INTEREST GROUPS, PARTY SYSTEMS, BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP STYLES AFFECT POLICY MAKING. IT IS BECAUSE SO MUCH DECISION MAKING IN MODERN GOVERNMENT TAKES PLACE IN AND AROUND POLICY COMMUNITIES THAT UNDERSTANDING THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND DYNAMICS IS IMPERATIVE IN THE FIELD OF COMPARATIVE PUBLIC POLICY MAKING.