Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Chinese political legitimacy

Daniel Lazar teaches at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin. On November 11, he posted this provocative question: Is the Chinese political system more legitimate than democratic systems? (I just found it.) There are two very relevant charts from Pew Research Center accompanying the post.

This is a great reminder of the variety of routes to achieve legitimacy.

Is China more legitimate than the West?
China and the United States are about to choose new leaders via very different methods. But is a candidate voted for by millions a more legitimate choice than one anointed by a select few?.

You probably think that the legitimacy and authority of the state, or government, is overwhelmingly a function of democracy, Western-style.

But democracy is only one factor. Nor does democracy in itself guarantee legitimacy.

Now let me shock you: the Chinese state enjoys greater legitimacy than any Western state. How come?…

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