Authoritarianism and Development in China By Steven Mc

Authoritarianism and Development in China By: Steven Mc. Creery

Research Question ❖ The traditional view for development theorists is that authoritarianism works in direct opposition to development. However, in recent decades China has seen significant developmental progress under an authoritarian regime, giving it the potential to challenge that view. ❖ RQ: How has authoritarianism affected development in China? ❖ Thesis Statement: Authoritarianism has caused China to take a route towards development that is different than the expectations of development theorists, however the outcomes may be similar.

Analytic Framework ❖ Development Theory and New Authoritarianism ❖ Development theory has 3 subtheories: world systems, modernization and dependency. ➢ World Systems: Global political, economic, and social standing. ➢ Modernization: Meet the standards of Western Liberal Democracies. ➢ Dependency: escape internal and external exploitation. ❖ New Authoritarianism: Authoritarian regimes adapt to allow for development programs, discourse, and degrees of democracy/autonomy.

Method: Pattern Matching ❖ Pattern matching involves comparing and contrasting an observed pattern to a theoretically expected pattern. ❖ For my project, the expected pattern is the expectations of development theory. The observed pattern is China’s actual development process throughout history.

Findings Modernization ● Electoral system: universal suffrage, regular elections. Not competitive or free from CCP control. ● Free Market: lack of guaranteed private property rights, 3. 8% tariff rate, high degree of business freedom ● Civil Society: over 700, 000 nonprofits/ngos in China. High funding only for orgs who follow CCP regulations. ● Human Rights: limited dissent and expression, particularly on internet. State churches and recognized religions. Two-child policy violates international human rights regulation. Dependency ● Internal Exploitation: top 1% have ~33% of country’s wealth. Avg. 46 hr work week. ● External Exploitation: Exporting of finished goods at own prices. Primarily import materials. Only spend 18% percent of gdp on imports. World Systems ● Economic Realm: 14 trillion USD gdp, which is second highest in the world. ● Political Realm: UNSC Permanent five. Present in over 1, 000 international political orgs. ● Social Realm: Hosted 2008 Olympic games. Will host in 2022. Important religious sites, such as Temple of Heaven in Beijing and Shaolin Temple.