Introduction

Since the collapse of the Soviet camp, two apparently contradictory narratives coexist in the China watcher community. One claims “the forthcoming collapse of China”, believing the Communist regime in the country will soon follow the destiny of the Soviet Union, citing widespread corruption, land disputes, income inequality, rising popular protests and so forth. Yet another group of China scholars argues in favour of “authoritarian resilience”, placing emphasis on the institutionalisation of certain parts of the party-state system, economic achievements, high-level popular confidence and sophisticated social control…