Read more
"Everyone interested in contemporary China attempts, in some fashion or other, to form judgments about the pressures for--and limits to--change in the political system in China. Nathan's book is by far the best analysis I have seen of the subject. By viewing recent developments in historical perspective, he analyzes democracy in China with a combination of idealism and realism that is impressive."
--A. Doak Barnett, Johns Hopkins University
"Admirable. . . . [Nathan] synthesize our current knowledge of the Democracy Movement in China, and [relates] its tribulations to parallel initiatives eighty years ago at the close of China's last dynasty."
--Jonathan Spence, Yale University
About the author
Andrew J. Nathan is a professor of political science at Columbia University. He specializes in Chinese politics, foreign policy, human rights and political culture.
Summary
Investigates in depth the nature and meaning of "democracy" in China today, beginning with a vivid history of the short-lived Democracy Movement of 1978-1981, when groups of young people in a number of Chinese cities started issuing outspoken publications and putting up posters detailing their complaints and opinions.
