ABSTRACT
The essays in this volume describe the institutionalization of Chinese leadership politics from the eras of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping to the era of Jiang Zemin. The authors, while differing on many points, agree that during the first four decades of Party rule, informal status and relationships, much more than formal institutional roles and rules, shaped the behaviour of the top national leaders in China. In Lowell Dittmer’s words, informal politics have been “historically dominant”, with formal politics “no more than a facade” (p. 19). Only since the mid-1990s, under Jiang, have formal institutions become more important influences on the actual behaviour of politicians in Beijing. All of the authors, even Lucian Pye, who sees informal politics as “very nearly the sum total of Chinese politics” and as deeply rooted in Chinese political culture, observe the change toward institutionalization under Jiang. 1
