1. Institutionalized Norms versus Patron-Client Ties
Elite Politics
Institutionalized Norms versus Patron-Client Ties

2. October 1, 1949 The People’s Republic of China was founded Mao Zedong
Chairman of the state
Chairman of the Party
Chairman of the Party’s Central Committee
Chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission
...

3. Mao’s Charismatic Rule
``Collective leadership” was discarded after Peng Dehuai’s purge in Lushan Meeting in 1959
Mao’s personal authority reached its peak during the Cultural Revolution

4. Mao’s successor Hua Guofeng
Mao: “With you in charge, I am at ease.”
Hua Guofeng was
Chairman of the state
Chairman of the Party
Chairman of the Party’s Central Committee
Chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission
Premier of the state

5. Deng Xiaoping
Power struggle and policy conflict between Hua and Deng in late 1970s
Deng’s pragmatic slogans:
``Practice as the sole criterion of truth”
``Seeking truth from facts”
``Yellow cat, black cat, whichever catches mice is a good cat”

6. Deng’s other cards Standing in the military Seniority in the Party
Since the Long March (1935)
Seniority in the Party
Joined the Party in 1924
High-level administrative experience
CCP General Secretary
Party veterans had high opinion in him
Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai

7. Toward a “ruling party”
On-and-off reform toward legal-rational authority
1982 State Constitution: “All state organs, armed forces, political parties, social organizations, enterprises must abide by the Constitution and laws”
Separation of Party and government under Zhao Ziyang
Departure from Maoist revolutionary party

8. Intra-Party Policy conflicts
Reformists versus conservatives
Deng Xiaoping and reformists:
Hu Yaobang, Zhao Ziyang, etc.
Chen Yun
conservatives
Li Peng

9. Party norms in the reform era
``Collective leadership” in the 1950s, before Lushan Meeting
Inner-Party policy differences
The recognition of the negative consequences of power being concentrated in the hands of one person

10. 18th Party Congress (2012) Politburo Standing Committee (7)
Central Committee
205 full members
171 alternates

11. Election versus Black Box
Multi-candidate election for membership of the Central Committee
Selection of the most important leadership bodies, namely the Politburo and its Standing Committee, is still through “black-box” manipulation by
departing Politburo Standing Committee members
powerful retired leaders such as Jiang Zemin

12. Age Limits and Turnover Rates
All full and alternate members of Central Committee who were born in or before 1944 were replaced.

13. Age Limits and Turnover Rates
However, the new Politburo Standing Committee is slightly older on average (63) than the previous one (62).
5 of the 7 members of the Politburo Standing Committee will retire at the 19th Party National Congress in 2017.

14. Regional Representation
Regional representation on the Central Committee of the CCP has become more institutionalized since the 15th Party Congress in 1997
Each provincial-level administration obtains two full membership seats
Party secretary
Governor (province), mayor (municipality), or chair (autonomous region)

15. Birth Places of Pb Members
Most Politburo members were born in eastern provinces.
Jiangsu
Shanghai
Anhui
Shandong

16. Provincial Leader Experience
6 of the 7 members of Politburo Standing Committee have served as provincial party secretaries, governors, or mayors.

17. Politburo Members with Provincial Leader Experience

18. The Rise & Fall of Technocrats
Political elites who
received higher education in engineering (or the natural sciences)
practiced as engineers (or engaged in scientific research)
Technocrats in the Central Committee
2% in 1982
25% in 1987
52 % in 1997

20. Factions of Politburo Members
Both factions are well represented in the 18th Politburo
Former General Secretary Jiang Zemin’s protégés:
princelings and Shanghai Gang
Former General Secretary Hu Jintao’s protégés:
Communist Youth League faction

21. Factional Balance of Power?
The “elitist coalition” (or the Jiang Zemin camp)
General Secretary Xi Jinping
“princelings” from families of veteran revolutionaries or high-ranking officials
The “populist coalition” (or the Hu Jintao camp)
Prime Minister Li Keqiang
Communist Youth League faction