ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces readers to the system of Party congresses, primarily the National Party Congress, with particular focus on its structure, position, functions, and problems, through which a dilemma of nominal superiority versus political impotency will be pointed out for the purpose of locating our discussion of Party congresses. The discussion will be in the theoretical context of "institutional inconsistency", while simultaneously attempting an exploration of the dilemma through the theoretical lens of "institutional manipulation for authoritarian legitimization". The chapter focuses on the latest developments in institutions, operations, and the role of the National Party Congress for supplying an updated picture in which one can find how the decreasing curve of Party leaderships' legitimacy makes the National Party Congress work in its contemporary roles. The chapter discusses of the nature of the CCP as an authoritarian political organization and its possibility of democratization via a transformation of the roles and operations of the Party congress system.
