Introduction

This book deals directly or indirectly with the relationship between structural reform and emergent forces of political pluralism and democratization. Lowell Dittmer compares the reform experiences of China under Deng and the Soviet Union under Gorbachev in an attempt to shed light on the question of the possible long-term co-evolution and structural confluence of reform-oriented Leninist systems. Nevertheless, and despite China's hostile reaction to subsequent Soviet political initiatives in Eastern Europe, Dittmer believes that the long-term prospects for renewed Sino-Soviet convergence seem reasonably favorable. Nina P. Halpern examines more closely the relationship between economic reform and political democratization in China. Comparing China's experience with that of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Rosen observes that survey research got off to a relatively slow start in post-Mao China. This was due, in large measure, to the residual legacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) traditional preference for "mass line"-style methods of assessing popular attitudes.