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Chinese People's Perception of Democracy: Procedural-Instrumental Conception and Instrumental Support

  • The Journal of Northeast Asia Research
  • Abbr : NEA
  • 2019, 34(2), pp.5-35
  • DOI : 10.18013/jnar.2019.34.2.001
  • Publisher : The Institute for Northeast Asia Research
  • Research Area : Social Science > Political Science > International Politics > International Relations / Cooperation
  • Received : November 16, 2019
  • Accepted : December 19, 2019
  • Published : December 31, 2019

Kang Su-Jeong 1

1성균관대학교 성균중국연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Contrary to the expectations of proponents of liberal democracy in the international society, China has not followed the path of liberalization and democratization, and still remains an authoritarian state that adheres to the authoritarian system under the Communist Party’s leadership. In addition, in its political reform, China opposes Western-style democratization and has pursued what it calls “Chinese-style democracy”. In this reality, China seems to be gradually moving away from the path of liberalization and democratization, but the results of the Chinese poll show that, ironically, many Chinese perceive China as a democratic country, and that they are not only relatively highly valued, but also quite satisfied with the way Chinese-style democracy is implemented in the country. This paper starts from the assumption that this irony can result from a different conception of democracy. Under this sense of question, this paper looks at the relationship between the Chinese people's understanding of democracy and their assessment of Chinese-style democracy. In particular, this paper attempts to examine the characteristics of Chinese conception of democracy and how such a conception affects their evaluation of China's democratic level and their satisfaction with the way Chinese-style democracy is implemented.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.