This is a valuable addition to the debate on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the prospect of political change and societal stability in China. In the last decades, scholars have looked at many dimensions of state and society in China, such as administrative change, center–local relations, corruption, nationalism, and political protest. They have arrived at different, and sometimes opposite, conclusions as to whether the CCP can hold on to power and the types of political transitions that will occur. David Shambaugh enters this debate with refreshing questions: What has the party leadership learned from the demise of actually existing socialisms that began almost two decades ago? What kinds of political systems or features have the leaders considered, rejected, or appropriated in renewing CCP rule? What kinds of changes has the leadership made based on what it has learned from situations around the world?
The core of this analysis begins...