ABSTRACT
Political elites have been an important topic in China studies since the 1970s. 1 During the past four decades, scholars have addressed issues relating to both the informal and formal dimensions of Chinese elite politics. These issues have been debated roughly around four themes — factional politics, generation politics, technocracy, and institutionalization. The existing literature has expanded our knowledge of Chinese elite politics; however, two puzzles have remained unsolved. First, institutionalization has been seen as an important trend in Chinese elite politics. There has yet to be a theoretical framework explaining the forces that have brought about and sustained this trend. Second, although both informal ties and formal rules and norms are crucial in shaping elite behavior, it is not clear how institutionalization has impacted factional politics and vice versa. How would factions continue to operate within the parameters of formal politics? This book addresses these two puzzles, contributing to our understanding of elite selection and stratification in China.
