Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Friday, July 27, 2012

Behind the scenes

As if there weren't enough things to learn about in a Constitution and established procedures, then students have to understand the informal methods of governance and politics. And they have to understand that "informal" doesn't mean casual or flexible. It means, in this case, things that are not included in the official rule of law -- like guanxi.

These informal bits include everything from the "rules" of behavior in the House of Commons or how the leadership of China's Communist Party is actually determined.

Are informal politics more important in democratic regimes, regimes that want to be seen as democratic, or non-democratic regimes? (Oh, that sounds like a rough draft of an FRQ.)

China’s Communist Elders Take Backroom Intrigue Beachside

Communist Party elders and their families are congregating [in Beidaihe] about 180 miles east of Beijing, to swim and dine and gossip — and to shape the future of the world’s most populous nation.

It is palace intrigue by the sea. In their guarded villas, current and past leaders will negotiate to try to place allies in the 25-member Politburo and its elite Standing Committee, at the top of the party hierarchy. The selections will be announced at the 18th Party Congress this fall in Beijing, heralding what is expected to be only the second orderly leadership transition in more than 60 years of Communist rule.

“This is where the factional struggles are settled and the decisions are made,” said one resident, surnamed Li, who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of Chinese politics. “At the meetings in the fall, everyone just raises their hands.”

Beidaihe is a Chinese combination of the Jersey Shore and Martha’s Vineyard, with a pinch of red fervor:… the party elites remain hidden in their villas and on their private patches of sand…

The informal talks are expected to start late this month and run into August.. In any case, politicking is inevitable when party elders show up to escape the stifling heat and pollution of Beijing…

Mao at a Beidaihe beach

Mao… convened formal conclaves here. His successor, Deng Xiaoping, made the meetings into annual events (he also took swims, supposedly to counter rumors of his ailing health)…

There are plots and counterplots… Negotiations here will be complicated by the continuing scandal over Bo Xilai, the deposed Politburo member who was most recently party chief of Chongqing…

During the negotiations, each current Standing Committee member should, at least in theory, have considerable say in determining the successor to his particular post. But party elders behind the scenes sometimes wield more authority. Mr. Jiang, though retired and ailing last year, may carry the greatest weight next to that of Mr. Hu. The heir apparent, Vice President Xi Jinping, also plays a role.

“Consensus among these three — the former, current and incoming leaders — is extremely important,” said Zhang Xiaojin, a political scientist at Tsinghua University in Beijing….

Those debates are remote from the lives of most people in Beidaihe. Yet talk of politics flows loosely here. At a beach reserved for local officials, next to an almost-deserted patch of sand blocked off for party leaders, a retired official in swim trunks pointed to the villas across the road. He said the children of party leaders had made off with too much money through corrupt practices in state industries…

“What are they good for?” the retired official asked. “What did they inherit from their fathers? They should have inherited the solidarity of the revolution.”