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Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the character of the Chinese political system writ large. Generally speaking, previous scholarly work on the Chinese political system consists of divergent conclusions; but perhaps what is more important is the debate about the form of the system not only remains inconclusive but also has faded into the background. In its place, studies consisting of narrow topics focusing on China have emerged, and they generally have no lessons learned for the larger picture. This trend is puzzling because China is gaining in prominence in the international system, but concomitantly less and less scholarly work is being conducted on the Chinese political system broadly construed. Since domestic systems drive a countrys behavior in the international system, this study aims to address this gap by examining the broad research question of: what factors explain the form of the contemporary Chinese political system? This study, however, unlike previous studies that perhaps undervalue sociopolitical cultural variables, specifically examines Chinese culture and history to investigate the character of the system. The study advances the theory that the Chinese elite used historical corporatism to facilitate Chinas transition from the imperial era to the contemporary era meaning they meshed traditional elements with modern features and as a result of taking this approach the modern system contains many features from the imperial system. Moreover the leadership continues to leverage forms of corporatism to achieve an eastern holistic order, or perhaps more aptly put, a system more reflective more of Chinese history and culture as opposed to copying another system. The project employs a case methodology of sociopolitical corporatism and uses process tracing in conjunction with elite interviewing to examine the sociopolitical cultural variables that contribute to the form of the Chinese political system. In doing so, this study makes several theoretical, empirical, and policy contributions, including employing an underrated sociopolitical cultural approach, using a unique but under used corporatist approach, engaging in an in-depth investigation of the Chinese political system, and providing a way to understand the sources and order of the contemporary Chinese political system.