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UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Retrofitting Communism : : Consultative Autocracy in China Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3j46n6k7 Author Gueorguiev, Dimitar D. Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Retrofitting Communism: Consultative Autocracy in China A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science by Dimitar D. Gueorguiev Committee in charge: Professor Susan L. Shirk, Chair Professor Edmund J. Malesky, Co-Chair Professor Claire L. Adida Professor Barry J. Naughton Professor Philip G. Roeder 2014 Copyright Dimitar D. Gueorguiev, 2014 All rights reserved. SIGNATURE PAGE The Dissertation of Dimitar D. Gueorguiev is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair ________________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2014 iii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the first day I arrived in China, when everything seemed to make sense, just before it all became so increasingly complicated. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ........................................................................................................................................... iii Dedication .................................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ v List of Figures and Tables .................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. viii Vita .................................................................................................................................................................... x Abstract of the Dissertation ................................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: A Tale of Two Policies ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Dissertation Overview ............................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2: The Logic of Consultative Autocracy ................................................................... 10 Introduction: Consulting the Benevolent Dictator .............................................................................. 11 2.1 Decision-Making Procedures ........................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Public Consultation under Autocracy ........................................................................................... 17 2.3 Policy Participation in Democracies ............................................................................................. 23 2.4 When do autocrats consult? ............................................................................................................. 27 2.4.1 The Value of Participation ......................................................................................................... 32 2.4.2 The Technology of Consultation ............................................................................................. 36 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3: Quasi-Democratic Reform ....................................................................................... 40 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 41 3.1 Reforming Autocracy: The Conventional Prescription ......................................................... 45 3.2 Public Participation: A Costless Alternative? ............................................................................ 48 3.3 China, an Ambivalent Reformer ...................................................................................................... 50 3.4 The Primacy of Nomenklatura ......................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 4: Consultation in the PRC ............................................................................................ 58 Introduction: A New Approach to Legislation ...................................................................................... 59 4.1 From Point to Surface .......................................................................................................................... 64 4.2 Risky Reforms ......................................................................................................................................... 69 4.3 Embracing Consultation ..................................................................................................................... 76 4.4 The Format of Consultation .............................................................................................................. 80 4.5 Consultation an Emerging Norm .................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 5: Consultation and Policy Durability ...................................................................... 89 Introduction: Yellow on Red ......................................................................................................................... 90 5.1 Public Participation in Policy Formation .................................................................................... 93 5.2 The Effects of Policy Volatility ......................................................................................................... 95 5.3 Public Consultation, an alternative for better policy ............................................................. 97 5.4 Empirical Strategy ............................................................................................................................... 101 5.5 Data and Description ......................................................................................................................... 113 5.6 Analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 121 v 5.6.1 Policy Repeal ................................................................................................................................. 122 5.6.2 Policy Amendment ..................................................................................................................... 122 5.6.3 Policy Deceleration .................................................................................................................... 127 5.7 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 130 Chapter 6: Local Budgets National Stakes ............................................................................ 132 Introduction: An Unlikely Hero ................................................................................................................. 133 6.1 Authoritarian Legitimacy ................................................................................................................. 138 6.2 Consultative Decision-Making ....................................................................................................... 147 6.3 Participatory Budgeting ................................................................................................................... 148 6.4 Participatory Budgeting in Zeguo ................................................................................................ 152 6.5 Survey and Sampling Strategy ....................................................................................................... 163 6.6 Analysis .................................................................................................................................................... 171 6.7 Generalizability .................................................................................................................................... 174 6.8 Understanding the mechanism ..................................................................................................... 177 Chapter 7: Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 183 Introduction: Authoritarian Resilience