This book tackles the important yet classic question: does economic development lead to political liberalization? In the context of China, of course, this is not the first volume to address this increasingly relevant question. Adopting a Schumpeterian perspective that democracy is more of a procedure, the book differentiates itself from other pertinent works by focusing on “regional variations” rather than national attributes or grass-roots activities.
The author compares two well-known regions in China, Sunan and Wenzhou, along a couple of analytical dimensions. In chapter two, historical legacies of the two regions are compared, with the conclusion that the Sunan region has had a stronger local state than Wenzhou, where the local state has been more supplementary in nature. In chapters three and four, the author examines the power relations in the context of privatization. That is, the mode of ownership transformation was less transparent and, therefore, local power relations were crucial in Sunan, while the practice of “removing red hats” was for real in Wenzhou, empowering its people vis-à-vis the local state.
In chapters five through seven, the volume delves into the discussions of class structure and elite relations in the two regions. The author argues, on the basis of abundant fieldwork data, that the class structure of Sunan is increasingly polarized while that of Wenzhou is more flat. Such an assessment leads to a more detailed comparison in which Sunan is depicted as a place of “elite collusion” between government officials and local business owners, whereas Wenzhou has witnessed the growing voices of private entrepreneurs.
In chapters eight through ten, the volume finally goes beyond the market and discusses questions of democracy. In chapter eight, the author compares the business associations in the two regions. He concludes that those in Sunan are mostly government-controlled NGOs as in many other regions, whereas those in Wenzhou are rather unique in that many are self-funded, contractual, horizontally organized and based on non-governmental initiatives.
Chapter nine extends the logic to the mode of village elections in the two regions. In Sunan, they are mostly a formality that is controlled by the township to guarantee nominations and election results. In stark contrast, village elections in Wenzhou involve heated competition and fervent participation by villagers and often spark other political innovations and democratic practices.
In chapter ten, as a conclusion, the author lays out the implications for China's political future. In doing so, he labels Sunan's modus operandi as authoritarianism and Wenzhou's as embryonic democracy. He further suggests that the former is more representative of China while the latter is “special” in nature. The book is concluded with some remarks on the uncertainties related to China's political future.
This volume is undoubtedly a valuable contribution to the studies of political change in China in that it concentrates on the crucial issue of regional variations. Yet, three points can be made about its weaknesses. Firstly, as the author notes, the Sunan region is more representative of the whole of China while Wenzhou is both special and unique. If so, how valid is this “asymmetric” comparison for making useful inferences? Second, given the usual “most-different-system” design in which the puzzle of different systems producing similar results is explained, what is the analytical utility of comparing two very different systems to account for very different outcomes? Third, how generalizable are the findings of these two well-known regions concerning other affluent regions in China?
Regarding the sections on class structure and elite power relations, three questions emerge. Firstly, while the author states the need to exclude the “middle class” from the purview of the book, it is not clear why he had to do this. More grounds are needed for justifying it considering that so much is being discussed about the rise of a middle class in China. Second, a puzzle that remains to be answered is why the polarized class structure in Sunan is being tolerated, particularly given the socialist ideal preached for several decades. Third, readers may be curious to know why the entrepreneurs in Wenzhou are not as interested in making connections with government officials as in Sunan, given the utmost value of such connections in China.
Since the author is teaching in China, it must be natural for him to be cautious and stay within limits. Nevertheless, it is frustrating to read the concluding chapter that does not really provide any workable prescriptions for China, which more resembles Sunan rather than Wenzhou.
Despite some shortcomings, the volume is full of interesting arguments and fresh data. Above all, logical consistency makes it a good read. This book is recommended for both academics and practitioners in the areas of East Asia, China and political changes.
