China&39s Communist Party Atrophy and Adaptation [Paperback]

Few issues affect the future of Chinaand hence all the nations that interact with Chinamore than the nature of its ruling party and government. In this timely study, David Shambaugh assesses the strengths and weaknesses, durability, adaptability, and potential longevity of China's Communist Party (CCP). He argues that although the CCP has been in a protracted state of atrophy, it has undertaken a number of adaptive measures aimed at reinventing itself and strengthening its rule. Shambaugh's investigation draws on a unique set of inner-Party documents and interviews, and he finds that China's Communist Party is resilient and will continue to retain its grip on power.

Copub: Woodrow Wilson Center Press

David Shambaughis Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the China Policy Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. He has written and edited many books, includingModernizing China's Military: Progress, Problems, and Prospects(UC Press, 2004) andPower Shift: China and Asias New Dynamics(UC Press, 2005).

Why has the Chinese Communist Party kept its grip on power while the former communist states of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe have collapsed? And where is China heading? In these pages, David Shambaugh provides a much-needed intellectual framework for thinking about China's recent past and future. J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. Ambassador to China, Indonesia, and Singapore

To understand Chinese politics, one has to understand the complex and manifold role of the Chinese Communist Party. Shambaugh's book provides this much-needed knowledge and insight. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Unlike deductive or speculative Western discourse on the direction of China's politicl³S