Corruption, Anticorruption, and the Transformation of Political Culture in Contemporary China

The Journal of Asian Studies, 75, pp 5-18, 2016

Indiana Legal Studies Research Paper No. 348

15 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2016 Last revised: 16 Jul 2016

Date Written: February 1, 2016

Abstract

Since its inception three years ago, Xi Jinping's anticorruption campaign has targeted some of China's biggest political and military figures and implicated tens of thousands of cadres. This article argues that the current campaign can be distinguished from the many others over the past thirty years not on account of its extensiveness, but rather in its systematic coupling with two other key moves: administrative reform and disciplinary regulation. Together, these three initiatives aim not only to clean up the malfeasance, graft, and bribery pervasive in Chinese political life today, but also to change the political culture. We demonstrate that the current leadership is forcing a shift in political norms and behaviors, and changing the shared assumptions and practices that inform the political dealings of the society, from the approval of permits to the promotion of judges.

Keywords: Political culture, Chinese politics, corruption, anticorruption

Suggested Citation

Keliher, Macabe, Corruption, Anticorruption, and the Transformation of Political Culture in Contemporary China (February 1, 2016). The Journal of Asian Studies, 75, pp 5-18, 2016, Indiana Legal Studies Research Paper No. 348, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2804346

Macabe Keliher (Contact Author)

West Virginia University ( email )

WVU Dept History
1515 University Ave
Morgantown, WV West Virginia 26506
United States

HOME PAGE: http://history.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty/macabe-keliher

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