The book is part of the recent effort to catch up with the research on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Despite its omnipresence and pivotal role in running the country, there has been a conspicuous shortage of references to the Party in most studies related to China. In its stead, the academic literature as well as popular discussions has too often treated the CCP as a type of regime destined to the dustbin of history. The inadequacy of research in this area is understandable because CCP is a tightly organised Leninist party which has kept much of its internal affairs confidential. This book examines the key aspects of the transformation of CCP in the rapidly changing national and global context. It highlights the problems faced by the ruling Leninist party in adapting to a capitalistic environment that its organisations cannot fully control and its ideology cannot effectively rationalise. It also examines CCP's strategies for adaptation in the areas of ideological reformulation, party-society relations and the ways of exercising power and maintaining internal cohesion. In addition to helping the readers understand how China is ruled and how the Chinese system operates, the book also highlights the evolutionary dynamics of Chinese politics in the environment created by CCP's reform and open-door policies.

The Chinese Communist Party and China's Capitalist Revolution examines issues of political change and development in China. In the last 30 years China has experienced a profound political transformation and a degree of political progress but these are largely mired in the assumption that the free market is inherently incompatible with communism, and the perceived lack of political reforms in China. Indeed, there has not been much in the sense of democratization, multi-party competition, freedom of speech and association, but as this book demonstrates, political development is not limited to these factors.

Based on extensive empirical investigations of the impact of the market on the communist party, with a particular focus on its grassroots organisations, this book finds that the Chinese communist party is undergoing profound changes in a host of important areas. By analyzing the impact of China's socioeconomic transformation on the CCP and the adaptations of the Party to the new environment the book takes stock of the nature and dynamics of political change underway in China. The author concludes that the Chinese communist party we knew no longer exists-it is evolving into something quite different, which must have political implications for both China and the rest of the world.

Professor Lance L. P. Gore is a political scientist specializing in contemporary Chinese politics at The East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.

The Chinese Communist Party and China's Capitalist Revolution examines issues of political change and development in China. In the last 30 years China has experienced a profound political transformation and a degree of political progress but these are largely mired in the assumption that the free market is inherently incompatible with communism, and the perceived lack of political reforms in China. Indeed, there has not been much in the sense of democratization, multi-party competition, freedom of speech and association, but as this book demonstrates, political development is not limited to these factors. Based on extensive empirical investigations of the impact of the market on the communist party, with a particular focus on its grassroots organisations, this book finds that the Chinese communist party is undergoing profound changes in a host of important areas. By analyzing the impact of China's socioeconomic transformation on the CCP and the adaptations of the Party to the new environment the book takes stock of the nature and dynamics of political change underway in China. The author concludes that the Chinese communist party we knew no longer exists-it is evolving into something quite different, which must have political implications for both China and the rest of the world. Professor Lance L. P. Gore is a political scientist specializing in contemporary Chinese politics at The East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.