When it comes to talking about democracy in China, Chinese nationalists argue that it cannot solve China's problems, while Chinese liberals remain unduly silenced. But China is facing a national identity crisis, compounded by Tibet and Taiwan, where significant proportions of both populations do not identify with the Chinese nation-state. Could democracy realistically address the problems in China's national identity? Baogang He opens up a dialogue in which Chinese liberals can offer viable alternatives in defence of key democratic principles and governance. He upholds the search for a political space in which democratic governance in China can feasibly be developed.
This title was first published in 2000: This text aims to provide a clear understanding of the complex relationship that exists between nationalism, national identity, the state, the direction and trend of China's transition and the subsequent prospects for democratization. While describing the rise of Chinese nationalism and the accompanying discourse on Chinese national identity, it focuses on the national identity question and its impact on democratization. The text argues that Chinese nationalism is not monolithic and that popular Chinese nationalism attempts to exclude the role of the party-state in defining national identity. Most importantly, it has the potential to demand democratic reform and push for democratization in China. Nevertheless, the alliance between nationalism and democracy will expedient. Chinese nationalism, whether official or popular, comes into conflict with democracy when it confronts the national identity/boundary problem. They clash with each other where territoriality is involved. The Chinese nationalist solution to the problem is logically and inherently opposed to the contemporary trend towards democracy.
The events of 1989, culminating in Tiananmen Square, highlighted the extent to which democratic ideals had taken root in China. Baogang He traces and evaluates the political discourse of democracy in contemporary China, identifying the three main competing models of democratization that dominate current Chinese intellectual trends. Analyzing the political implications of these models the author considers how the theories may be put into practice in order to develop an appropriately Chinese conception of democracy.
Deepening regionalism in Asia demands new leadership. Strong elites who are committed to a supranational identity are a minimum requirement of successful regionalism. Regional leaders are increasingly seen as a new set of leaders in Europe. Currently, Asian regional leaders largely come from the diplomacy community, or trade and economic sectors. Yet further regionalization demands a new type of leadership from civil society and citizens. In this context it is important to cultivate new regional leadership through the development of regional citizenship. This book examines contested ideas of regionalism in Asia with a particular focus on two competing ideas of pan-Asianism and Pacificism. It also identifies a new trend and contestation, the fundamental shift from a civilization understanding of regionalism to a technocratic and functional understanding of regionalism in the form of regulatory regionalism. It also examines the other contested imaginations of regionalism in Asia including elitist versus participatory approaches to regionalism, and democracy-centric versus nationalism-centric approaches to regionalism.
In China's Galaxy Empire, John Keane and Baogang He target a development of enormous significance: China's return, after two centuries of decline and subjugation, to a position of prominence in world affairs. The daring thesis is that China is a newly rising empire of a kind never before witnessed: a galaxy empire. The galaxy empire interpretation rejects clichéd misdescriptions of China as a "big power", and it explains why China defies older definitions of land, sea, and air-based empires. The book warns against the perils of simple-minded, friend-versus-enemy thinking and "Big China, Bad China" politics, but it also proffers a forewarning to China's rulers: no empire lasts forever, and some are stillborn, because they indulge illusions of greatness and reckless power adventures.
The order of international relations in Asia is predominantly state-centric. It is one based primarily on absolute national sovereignty, exclusive national identity and patriotic national citizenship. This sovereignty-based or state-centered order, however, has been challenged and progressively undermined by a people-centric order that is governed by ideals of global citizenship and principles of global justice. In this people-centric order, the emergence of a new form of politics in which citizens are empowered by various non-governmental organizations that serve to define and influence world politics is envisaged. Clearly, such an order clashes with the prevailing Asian national sovereignty-based model.This book provides a systematic descriptive, explanatory and normative analysis of the clash of normative orders in Asia, and develops an analysis of Asian responses to the challenge posed by a more diffuse people-centric order and the implications this may have for global justice.The book aims to study two paradigms of political order — a national statist sovereignty-based order and a people-centric order, analyze the conflict between two diverse political paradigms within an Asian setting, and assess the various challenges a people-centric order poses for a sovereignty-based order. It also aims to address the paucity of Asian normative thinking through a synthesis of intellectual sources and normative theories. It applies, tests, revises and develops Western normative theories of the people-centric order.It is a must read for students and researchers who are interested in the theoretical debates — especially Asian voices — on normative issues in Asia.
The events of 1989, culminating in the massacre in Beijing, highlight the extent to which democratic ideals have taken root in China. The future of democracy in a country undergoing great economic and social change is unclear and many argue that established Western democratic systems will simply bring about instability in China. In The Democratization of China, Baogang He traces and evaluates the political discourse of democracy in contemporary China, identifying the three main competing models of democratization that dominate current Chinese intellectual trends: populist, paternalistic and liberal. Analysing the political implications of these models, the author considers how the theories may be put into practice in order to develop an appropriately Chinese, liberal conception of democracy.
He, Breen, and Allison-Reumann combine qualitative and quantitative research to compare the successes and failures of attempts at federalism in Asian countries. Federalism is an increasingly common approach to improving governance and resolving ethnic conflict in Asia. However, Asian federalism faces three thorny problems. First, the ethnic federalism paradigm dominates political and intellectual life, rendering political compromise difficult and creating an obstacle to establishing or improving federalism in Asia. Second, religious fundamentalism and secular refusal to accommodate religious demands pose an existential threat to federal politics. Third, a majoritarian democracy is itself a threat to federalism in Asia and the peace and stability that it is meant to underpin. Through a truly comparative analysis, He, Breen, and Allison-Reumann investigate the potential for a hybrid-ethnic approach, religious moderation, and deliberative democracy to overcome these challenges. They analyse cases from across Asia – both successes and failures. These include countries encompassing the first generation of federalism in Asia – India, Malaysia, and Pakistan – and challenges faced by the new, emerging, and aspiring federal states, namely Nepal, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. They demonstrate how federalism can be achieved through compromise and a continual renegotiation of its underpinning values. A vital resource for scholars of political systems in Asia and of federalism more broadly.
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