China's Reaction to the Colored Revolutions: Adaptive Authoritarianism in Full Swing

49 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2010 Last revised: 13 Aug 2010

See all articles by Titus C. Chen

Titus C. Chen

National Sun Yat-sen University

Date Written: 2010

Abstract

This article provides an interpretivist-structuralist account to analyze the Chinese party-state’s perception of and policy adaptations to the Color Revolutions of 2005-2007. China’s leaders and established intellectuals perceived the Color Revolutions as a series of contagious and illegitimate political changes in Eurasia, instigated by three major factors: raging domestic grievances, electoral politics exploited by the opposition, and Western powers’ intervention for geo-strategic interests. This perception and interpretation of the Color Revolutions gave rise to a collective sense of external threat and prompted the Chinese regime to strengthen its coercive capacity. The result was the communist party’s increased control over liberal and critical media, political activism, civil rights advocacy, and Sino-Western civil exchanges. The Chinese state’s policy adaptations to the Color Revolutions attested to its long-term model of authoritarian developmentalism.

Keywords: Color Revolutions, China, internal security, adaptive authoritarianism

Suggested Citation

Chen, Titus C., China's Reaction to the Colored Revolutions: Adaptive Authoritarianism in Full Swing (2010). APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1644372

Titus C. Chen (Contact Author)

National Sun Yat-sen University ( email )

70 Lien-hai Road,Ku-shan
District Kaohsiung 804
Taiwan

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