ABSTRACT
Based on a comparative analysis of Chinese and foreign theory and practice on democracy, we posit the concepts related to Chinese cooperative-harmonious democracy, which have been inspired by traditional ideas of “people-oriented” and “harmony and cooperation”, in combination with the theory and methods of cooperative game as well as the historical experience of democratic transition and development in other countries. Next, cooperative-harmonious democracy must be taken beyond the conceptual level to institutional design, which would serve as the cornerstone for its construction. Institutions are the set of rules members of a society play by. They are the regulations or limitations designed for interactions among people, which help them to establish stable expectations in their dealings with others and facilitate cooperation for optimum results. 1 Though it is yet diffi cult to design an exhaustive system of institutions for cooperative-harmonious democracy, we should at least take into consideration the following issues.
