The Party and the People explores how this paradox has helped the CCP endure for decades, and how this balance has shifted increasingly toward repression under the rule of President Xi Jinping. Yet the party does not sustain dominance through repressive tactics alone-it pairs this with surprising responsiveness to the public. Dickson uses this lens to illuminate a number of key questions: How are leaders chosen and how are policies made? When is protest and civic engagement allowed, and when is it suppressed? Acknowledging that the inner workings of the party remain shrouded in secrecy, Dickson draws from the full landscape of sources available to lay out what we know and what the future may hold as Xis rule extends and takes an increasingly repressive approach to governing- Book Synopsis How the Chinese Communist Party maintains its power by both repressing and responding to its people Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained unrivaled control over the country, persisting even in the face of economic calamity, widespread social upheaval, and violence against its own people. The opportunity for the public to chose leaders is limited to very local levels, and it is the party itself that chooses when to compromise and when to repress. Yet while the regime is responsive to a degree often unacknowledged by international observers, ultimately it is not accountable to the public. At the core of the partys practices is a dual approach-repression when faced with existential, political threats, and responsiveness when faced with more localized economic or social unrest. How has it achieved this, and how exactly does the party and the government function? What is political life like for the people of China, and how has this changed over the decades of the partys rule? Is democracy on the horizon? These are some of the questions that animate Bruce Dicksons exploration of Chinese politics today. Despite economic calamity, widespread social upheaval, and even violence against its own people, the party has overseen the fastest economic growth in history and only strengthened its hold on power.

About the Book Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained an unrivaled grip over the country.

We Are Party People by Leslie Margolis