Political science

How can the poor and weak “work”a political system to their advantage?
Drawing mainly on interviews and surveys in rural China, Kevin O’Brien and
Lianjiang Li show that popular action often hinges on locating and exploiting
divisions within the state. Otherwise powerless people use the rhetoric and
commitments of the central government to try to fight misconduct by local
officials, open up clogged channels of participation, and push back the frontiers of the permissible. This “rightful resistance” has far-reaching implications for our understanding of contentious politics. As O’Brien and Li explore the origins, dynamics, and consequences of rightful resistance, they highlight similarities between collective action in places as varied as China, the former East Germany, and the United States, while suggesting how Chinese experiences speak to issues such as opportunities to protest, claims radicalization, tactical innovation, and the outcomes of contention. Although the focus of their rich, ground-level analysis is contemporary China, the authors make a compelling argument that wherever a gap between rights promised and rights delivered exists, there is room for rightful resistance to emerge.

“This landmark book is the first to fully explain how memes have become a critical part of UK politics. Through rich and convincing empirical analysis, Southern reveals how digital humour is transforming citizen participation, elite communication, and the very nature of political discourse. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the evolution of digital political culture and its profound impact on democracy.” !-- [if !supportLists]--– !--[endif]--James Dennis, Researcher at Lusófona University, Portugal “From ‘shitposts’ to ‘Karen memes’, political communication is changing and Rosalynd Southern is a lively guide to the pithy world of memes. A cutting-edge study that deserves to be read. — Stephen Coleman, Emeritus Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds, UK In 2015, a story emerged alleging that then-Prime Minister David Cameron had placed ‘a private part of his anatomy’ into the mouth of a dead pig’s head during an initiation ceremony at the University of Oxford. Upon this allegation breaking, social media erupted with a plethora of memes and jokes about the incident, which became known as ‘Piggate’. Although there had been a move towards jovial talk of politics on social media prior to this, the episode seemed to distil the practice and precipitate a new era of near-constant humorous online reaction to political events. Considering this context, this book assesses how memetic practices have shaped political communication and culture in the past decade-plus, and the consequences thereof. It does so from four perspectives, encompassing a focus on ordinary citizens, a group of online activists, a key social media satirist and, finally, focusing on how elites have deployed these practices.

This book examines how government propaganda and everyday online activity shaped China’s digital nationalism in response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.With a focus on Weibo, it demonstrates how state media promoted nationalism and how the public responded by either supporting or quietly challenging official narratives, or reshaping them. Using a variety of methods, including large-scale social media analysis and focused case studies, the book shows how digital platforms became pivotal communication hubs during the pandemic. The book also examines state-led digital propaganda by outlets such as People's Daily, public reactions to China's vaccine policy, and the anger surrounding the Wuhan Red Cross scandal. Together, these cases reveal how emotion, visibility, and participation interact to sustain "soft authoritarianism," a form of governance based not only on censorship, but also on managing public sentiment and engagement. Accessible and timely, this book provides a new perspective on the relationship between propaganda, nationalism, and digital media. It illustrates how nationalism and political authority are co-produced online and how governments and citizens negotiate power in an increasingly digital society.This book will be invaluable for scholars and students of political communication and digital media, as well as for those interested in the digital society of China.

為何習近平要收緊私企政策，壯大國有經濟？
為何蘇聯東歐各國的共產政權因經濟崩潰而紛紛垮台時，中國仍屹立不搖？

　　許成鋼透過「制度基因」的架構，解釋中西憲政發展與極權演變的前因與後果。

　　本書探討中國制度和共產極權主義制度的起源和演變，並引入「制度基因」這個分析概念，以研究從蘇俄來的制度基因如何與中國帝制的制度基因融合，創造出具有中國特色且持久的極權主義政權。制度基因是不斷自我複製並影響制度演變的基本制度要素，是可以實證識別的。

　　作者首先分析共產極權主義意識形態在歐洲興起，並在俄國的制度基因基礎上產生出極權主義制度。然後分析中國帝制制度基因的起源和演變，著重這些制度基因如何與蘇俄共產國際引入到中國的共產極權主義制度基因相結合，使中共得以在中國建立極權制。接著討論中國大躍進、文化大革命時期的制度變化，分析在蘇俄極權制度基因和中國傳統制度基因的基礎上，如何產生出中國特色的區域管理的極權主義制度，以及這個制度如何使得中國的改革開放獲得經濟快速發展，不僅挽救中共，而且使中國成為極權主義超級大國。

　　中國共產極權制的大發展應當使人們回想起米塞斯近八十年前對遏制極權主義努力失敗的警告。要扭轉這一趨勢，深入理解極權主義是必不可少的一步。

專家推薦

　　為什麼中國會成為一個極權制國家？中國的共產主義與蘇聯的共產主義之間有何聯繫？是什麼導致了它們的差異？中國共產黨在未來會如何發展？在這本大膽而嚴謹的著作中，許成鋼透過深刻的歷史和經濟分析，對這些問題及更多相關問題提供了極為精彩的答案。──Eric Maskin（諾貝爾經濟學獎得主、哈佛大學校級亞當斯講座教授）

　　為什麼民主在某些國家蓬勃發展，而在其他國家卻未能如此？許多人曾預期中國的迅速崛起會導致其擁抱民主，但事實並非如此。許成鋼在這本發人深省的書中提出，原因在於他稱之為「制度基因」的根本因素，例如中國的帝國傳統和對個人自由和產權的限制。透過與最偉大思想家的對話，許應用制度基因的框架解釋了民主在西方的發展及其在俄羅斯的失敗。可以說，這些問題是當今最重要的議題之一。任何對這些問題感興趣的人都會發現這本書是必讀之作。──Oliver Hart（諾貝爾經濟學獎得主、哈佛大學校級蓋瑟講座教授）

　　我們常聽到人們談論中國的創新能力、其國家資本主義、市場體系或其現代化。然而，這本發人深省的書提出了不同的觀點。通過歷史分析、制度分析和經濟分析，本書論證了儘管有鄧小平發動的經濟改革，中國的政治和經濟體系依然是極權主義的。許成鋼認為，共產統治不僅改變了制度，而且以高度持久的方式改變了文化的許多重要方面；不理解中國的「極權制度基因」就無法理解其今天的體系。這些基因塑造了當前中國的經濟、社會生活和共產黨統治。任何對中國及其正在形成的複雜世界秩序感興趣的人都會發現這是必讀之作。──Daron Acemoglu（諾貝爾經濟學獎得主、麻省理工學院院級講座教授）

　　許成鋼以鋒利的視角剖析了現代中國極權主義的歷史和制度基因。他提供了對當代中國的治理如何從其帝制和俄羅斯布爾什維克主義的根源中發展而來的全新理解。這部歷史和政治經濟分析的傑作將立即成為任何關心中國政治體制的人必讀的權威著作。憲政自由在中國是否有機會？本書應成為關心此問題的人的必讀之作。——Darrell Duffie（史丹佛大學管理兼金融學亞當斯傑出講座教授）

　　許成鋼，這位曾撰寫關於中國經濟奇蹟背後的制度基礎的經典論文的著名經濟學家，如今為我們帶來了關於中國「區域治理極權主義」制度根源的權威分析。透過對歷史和俄國革命影響的分析，許成鋼精彩地解釋了中國在二十世紀未能實現憲政的原因。中國千年的帝制比絕對君主制更加專制，這幫助了布爾什維克制度移植和融合到中國，並創造了中國獨特的極權主義形式。這是一部深刻且極富思想性的著作，對於理解當代中國至關重要。──Gerard Roland（加州大學柏克萊分校經濟學兼政治學摩里斯·考克斯傑出講座教授）

　　世界上最大的生物不是鯨魚，而是一種名叫「奧氏蜜環菌」的巨大且鮮為人知的地下真菌。同樣，正如許成鋼在這本令人震驚且重要的書中所展示的那樣，最大的政治有機體是共產極權制，其「制度基因」在不同的時間和地點重複出現，但總是具有關鍵作用。華麗的詞藻掩蓋了無情的暴力，人類被降級為被支配的俘虜；享有自主權的不是人，而是這個系統。然而，許成鋼並非一個滿懷幻想的陰謀論者。出身於該系統並曾受教於哈佛的他，為所述觀點提供了冷靜的分析。──Perry Link（林培瑞，普林斯頓大學東亞研究榮休教授）

　　許教授提出制度基因之概念，向上追溯中華帝制之制度基因，詳細審視科舉與儒教之影響，並舉以與沙俄及布爾什維克之極權主義相比較，清楚詮釋了中共治下中國經濟改革之成功與局限。──明居正（國立臺灣大學政治學系名譽教授）

　　本書是許教授多年來對於中國經濟發展集大成之著作，並且加入歷史的縱深，以共產主義的起源和中國共產黨崛起之脈絡，說明極權主義與專制主義下經濟發展的取向。──趙相科（國立清華大學經濟學系教授）

本书以中世纪英国的陪审团制度为核心，系统考察其在国家治理与社会结构中的多重功能。作者指出，陪审团不仅是司法裁判机制，更是王权动员地方社会、实现信息收集与行政控制的重要工具。通过分析陪审员的社会构成与实践运作，揭示了国家权力扩张过程中对基层社会的依赖与整合机制。本书突破传统法律史视角，将陪审团置于国家形成与社会史的交叉框架中加以考察，深化了对中世纪英国国家一社会关系的理解。