The Rise and Decline of Collective Leadership in China: An Institutional Approach

Lim Jaehwan (Associate Professor, Department of International Politics, Aoyama Gakuin University; HYI Visiting Scholar 2018-19)
Chair/discussant: Joseph Fewsmith (Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Boston University)

Co-sponsored with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies

President Xi Jinping’s quick and impressive power consolidation has sparked much debate over the current state and future trajectory of the collective leadership in the Chinese Communist Party. Drawing on theories of institutions, this talk will explore the historical development of collective leadership. Specifically, with a focus on the post-Mao era, this talk will trace how the rules and norms about power sharing and leadership transfer within the Party elites have emerged, developed over time, and consequently changed the institutional environment in which the current leaders work with each other.