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A review by booksny
The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers by Richard McGregor
informative
slow-paced
3.0
The scope of The Party is well-defined in accordance to its thesis and main objectives. McGregor focuses strictly upon Chinese domestic politics; international relations issues
such as the global financial crisis and hostilities with Taiwan are mentioned only in passing. This is because McGregor’s argument is that the CCP’s biggest challenges comes from within rather than without.
The Party’s stated objectives is to explain how the CCP has survived and prospered until
today, and to place the CCP ‘back at the heart of the modern Chinese society’. This it successfully does by providing a detailed exploration of the CCP’s adaptability and
pragmatism. It clearly explains the factors - fear of collective action, determination to
stay in power - which influence how the CCP operates. However, readers are left to ruminate upon why these factors are so important. What makes the individuals leading the CCP so desperate for power? Is it a matter of greed, of ideology, of inertia? These are admittedly difficult questions to answer, but the ensuing result is that the secret world of the Chinese Communist Party still remains, for the most part, disappointingly secret.
It is always interesting to observe how an author’s professional background guides the tone and arguments formed in their work. The first key point of note is that McGregor is writing The Party from a journalistic, rather than academic perspective. Thus, the target audience of The Party is the general public rather than the academia, and The Party does not directly acknowledge or reference alternative works or academic theories about Chinese politics. The second key point to keep in consideration is McGregor’s previous service as the China bureau chief for the Financial Times, a paper with a focus on business, financial and economic news. Consequently, it stands to reason that he has a particular interest in the role and impact of the Chinese economy. These two points bring both advantages and drawbacks to the table. As The Party is aimed at the edification of the wider populace, McGregor uses a lively, engaging writing
style which renders the complex subject of Chinese politics easily understandable to the average layman. As a journalist, his investigative style, resources and informant network may be markedly different from that of academics, and so the anecdotes and observations he recounts are a unique, compelling source of primary data. His in-depth explanations of the role and impact of the Chinese economy - not just in relation to CCP leadership decisions, but also in relation to corruption, personnel selection and the military - adds value to mainstream beliefs that said economy is a key factor in influencing Chinese politics.
On the other hand, The Party lacks academic objectivity. An academic paper of quality would have gathered both supporting and opposing literature on the subject and presented it alongside their own argument. This would have allowed readers to place the book in the wider context of China studies. As it is, readers for which The Party is their introduction to understanding China would be hard pressed to evaluate its argument, question its assumptions and notice its limitations.
such as the global financial crisis and hostilities with Taiwan are mentioned only in passing. This is because McGregor’s argument is that the CCP’s biggest challenges comes from within rather than without.
The Party’s stated objectives is to explain how the CCP has survived and prospered until
today, and to place the CCP ‘back at the heart of the modern Chinese society’. This it successfully does by providing a detailed exploration of the CCP’s adaptability and
pragmatism. It clearly explains the factors - fear of collective action, determination to
stay in power - which influence how the CCP operates. However, readers are left to ruminate upon why these factors are so important. What makes the individuals leading the CCP so desperate for power? Is it a matter of greed, of ideology, of inertia? These are admittedly difficult questions to answer, but the ensuing result is that the secret world of the Chinese Communist Party still remains, for the most part, disappointingly secret.
It is always interesting to observe how an author’s professional background guides the tone and arguments formed in their work. The first key point of note is that McGregor is writing The Party from a journalistic, rather than academic perspective. Thus, the target audience of The Party is the general public rather than the academia, and The Party does not directly acknowledge or reference alternative works or academic theories about Chinese politics. The second key point to keep in consideration is McGregor’s previous service as the China bureau chief for the Financial Times, a paper with a focus on business, financial and economic news. Consequently, it stands to reason that he has a particular interest in the role and impact of the Chinese economy. These two points bring both advantages and drawbacks to the table. As The Party is aimed at the edification of the wider populace, McGregor uses a lively, engaging writing
style which renders the complex subject of Chinese politics easily understandable to the average layman. As a journalist, his investigative style, resources and informant network may be markedly different from that of academics, and so the anecdotes and observations he recounts are a unique, compelling source of primary data. His in-depth explanations of the role and impact of the Chinese economy - not just in relation to CCP leadership decisions, but also in relation to corruption, personnel selection and the military - adds value to mainstream beliefs that said economy is a key factor in influencing Chinese politics.
On the other hand, The Party lacks academic objectivity. An academic paper of quality would have gathered both supporting and opposing literature on the subject and presented it alongside their own argument. This would have allowed readers to place the book in the wider context of China studies. As it is, readers for which The Party is their introduction to understanding China would be hard pressed to evaluate its argument, question its assumptions and notice its limitations.