considering principles of endogenous democracy in Chinese constitutional theory

1. Crafting a Theory of Socialist Democracy For China
in the 21st Century: Considering Hu Angang’s (胡
鞍鋼) Theory of Collective Presidency in the
Context of the Emerging Chinese Constitutional
State
Larry Catá Backer
Professor of Law and International Affairs,
The Pennsylvania State University
LCB911@GMAIL.COM

2. I. The problem, conceptualizing democracy?
议题：如何定義民主？
II. Context: how does this issue of democracy translate into the context
of China?
背景：如何解讀中國國情下的民主問題？
III. Summary & Conclusion: China working toward to a distinctive view
of democracy and government.
結論：中國正在發展一套獨特的民主和治理的理論

3. I. What’s the problem: how to conceptualize democracy?
议题：如何定義民主？
Sovereign Power
People
Voting
(choice)
Representative
Government
主權
人民
Representative
Government
Vanguard Party
External democratic governance I n t r a - d e m o c r a t i c g o v e r n a n c e
民主集中
Exogenous vs. Endogenous
Master Narrative
Legitimacy
Accountability
To People 對人民負責
對黨負責

4. Theory
Traditional Leninism
• Marxist values became ossified, Leninist
organizational principles were chipped away
by bureaucracy and cults of personality.
• Rigid notion of class struggle and
vanguardlism created tensions that halt
Marxist state from the reality, which lead to
destruction of VANGUARD party and state.
Democratic Leninism?
• Move from class struggle to the development of
productive forces
• Expand Marxist principles of collectivity into
Leninist principles of Vanguard party government,
• Practice consensus based presentational
democracy within the party and state.
• Collective Presidency Theory derives from fusion of
collectivity principles within Leninist governance
organs.
Legitimacy
?
Sozialsaat
?
Democracy
?
Legitimacy
?
Rechststaat
?
Collectivization
with Chinese
Characteristics
?

5. II. Context: how does this issue of democracy translate into the
context of China?
背景：如何解讀中國國情下的民主問題？
Efficient and Modernized Mechanism of Marxism and Leninism fit in the context of socialist transition

6. Collective Presidency in General
集體領導體制
Internal
Democracy
Collective
succession
Collective
learning
Collective
decision-
making
Collective
labor division
and
cooperation
Collective
research
Progress of Collective Presidency
(1927-48)
Emergence
(1949-57)
Establishment
(1958-76)
Instability
(1977-91)
Reconstruction
(1992-12)
Development
Further
development
2012-
Mechanisms of Collective Presidency

7. Collective Division of Labor and Cooperation
集體分工協作機制
Central
Standing
Committee
Provincial
Standing
Committee
Municipal Standing
Committee
• The objective is not generate majority
votes -- consensus;
• Individual not only represents personal
views but also the body that member
belongs to.
• Consensus achieved at each level by
members who are subject to fiduciary
element of CCP.

8. Collective Succession
集體換屆機制
Majority
votes
Collective
SuccessionPathtopower
Pathtopower
Path to power:
• Individual’s rights of
choosing
representative
exercising all
sovereign authority,
which is mediate
through political
party.
• Representative’s
accountability to
voters
Path to power:
• Operated by predictable
selection of individual, based
on his/ her local governing
experience.
• Internal democracy to the
party. Individual participation
and factionalism is rejected.
• Representative’s
accountability to party and
people.

9. Collective Learning and Research
集體學習機制和調研機制
• Collective Learning is not only an necessary instrument that party
could focus on improving the governance and rule of law, it is also an
critical line established by the party constitution.
• Collective research is an critical mechanism that reflects Party’s
“seeking truth from facts” line. It focus on party members’ capacity of
being responsive to people.
• External consultation

10. Collective Decision Making
集體決策機制
• Focus on the substantive aspect of the outcome: whether sounding
decision has been made.
• The process of decision making, with the participation of United Front, serve
an important element of vanguard party governance.
• Individual opinion matters less, while fiduciary character of political authority
is emphasized.

11. Future Reform
• Institutionalization:
• More refined work codes of Central Committee.
• Accountability:
• Reinforce the fiduciary character for the cadres of internal democracy through clear
and straightforward rules and overseeing board, such as Shuanggui.
• Political consensus:
• Improving consensus in decision-making through the operation of research and
learning, which provides better understanding of facts and party lines.
• Transparency:
• Refined reporting and publicizing system that improving the transparency of decision
making, which opinions and decisions could be communicate between the party and
mass.
• Innovation:
• Ideology innovation to avoid ossification and further advance socialist democracy.

12. III. Summary& Conclusion: China is working toward to a
distinctive view of democracy and governing
結論：中國正在發展一套獨特的民主和治理的理論
• Collective Presidency is a theoretical application of Leninist vanguard
governance principle for the context of socialist China, which
challenged traditional western conception of democracy that
operated through election.
• The essence of Collective Presidency not only fits in the context of
state and party policy of socialist modernization, but also consists
with the core parameters of socialist constitutional system.
• More reforms, both ideological and institutional, are required in order
to enforce the mechanism of collective presidency.