Chinese Cooperative-Harmonious Democracy A fter several decades of reform and opening up, China has come to a critical period of transformation and development. How to deepen political reform for this country has once again attracted the world’s attention. T his book proposes a new democracy model for China’s political reform – “cooperative-harmonious democracy”. Absorbing the core values of democracy, this model draws on Chinese traditional “harmony and cooperation” and “people-oriented” thought, as well as modern cooperative game theory. More importantly, this book adopts the new model to analyse some present practice cases in China. This book is a valuable theoretical innovation and a signifi cant achievement in promoting the interdisciplinary research of political science and public management. It strategically refl ects on how to promote the development of cooperative-harmonious democracy from the perspective of high-level design. The policy suggestions it proposed will be a valuable reference for policy-makers. Dr. Zongchao Peng is a professor and associate dean of School of Public Policy & Management, and director of Center for Crisis Management Research, Tsinghua University. Dr. Ben Ma is a professor and associate dean of School of Political Science & Public Management, Shandong University, and a part time researcher in Center for Crisis Management Research, Tsinghua University. Dr. Taoxiong Liu is a professor and associate dean of School of Social Sciences, and executive director of Center for Strategy and Policy, Tsinghua University. China Perspectives series The C hina Perspectives series focuses on translating and publishing works by leading Chinese scholars, writing about both global topics and China-related themes. It covers Humanities & Social Sciences, Education, Media and Psychol- ogy, as well as many interdisciplinary themes. T his is the fi rst time any of these books have been published in English for international readers. The series aims to put forward a Chinese perspective, give insights into cutting-edge academic thinking in China, and inspire researchers globally. For more information, please visit https://www.routledge.com/series/CPH Forthcoming titles: Contemporary Chinese Diplomacy Qu Xing, Zhong Longbiao Technology Experts and Scientifi c Decision Ru Peng Creative Involvement: a New Direction in China’s Diplomacy Wang Yizhou Creative Involvement: the Evolution of China’s Global Role Wang Yizhou China: Tackle the Challenge of Global Climate Change Hu Angang, Guan Qingyou Chinese Cooperative- Harmonious Democracy Zongchao Peng Ben Ma Taoxiong Liu First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Zongchao Peng, Ben Ma and Taoxiong Liu The right of Zongchao Peng, Ben Ma and Taoxiong Liu to be identifi ed as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-90017-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-70743-3 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC Sponsored by National Social Science Fund of China Contents List of fi gures and table vii Foreword I viii Foreword II ix Preface x Acknowledgements xiv 1 Introduction 1 2 Historical analysis and comparison of democratic models 20 3 Chinese traditional thought and cooperative-harmonious democracy 62 4 Cooperative game theory and cooperative-harmonious democracy 73 5 Transition to democracy from the perspective of cooperative game: a case study of Spain 91 6 The design of institutional reform for Chinese cooperative-harmonious democracy 101 7 A case study of Chinese cooperative-harmonious electoral democracy 114 8 A case study of Chinese cooperative-harmonious deliberative democracy 128 vi Contents 9 A cases study of Chinese cooperative-harmonious intra-Party democracy 160 10 Conclusion and recommendations 178 Bibliography 182 Index 190 Figures and table Figures 1.1 Research framework and analysis 15 2.1 Democratic models classifi ed by the degree of individual freedom versus organizational centralization 53 4.1 “Promise-choice” game 81 6.1 A two-dimensional diagram of different models of democracy 102 6.2 Major types of relationship to be coordinated for cooperative- harmonious democracy 103 7.1 Framework for analyzing electoral democracy 117 8.1 Models of participation in the budgeting process 143 8.2 Evolution of the budgetary participation model 146 9.1 Analytical approach to intra-Party democracy 163 Table 2.1 Comparison of the characteristics of three different democratic models 54 Foreword I C hina’s political science, after three decades of recovery and development, really needs to take on the challenge to face the strategic choice of China’s political reform and, on the foundation of outstanding achievements in political science, to think about a genuine democratic model with Chinese cultural characteristic by taking a perspective from the fi ne traditional Chinese thinking and culture. This project, supported by the National Social Science Fund with the contribution of Professor Peng Zongchao and other scholars, proposes a new model for China’s future socialist cooperative-harmonious democracy through exploring the differ- ences and similarities of Chinese and Western cultures and adopting the perspec- tive of the thoughts of “harmony and cooperation” and “people-oriented”, and the modern cooperative game theory; this model surpasses not only the Western liberal democracy, which places too much emphasis on individual rights and the democratic process, but also traditional socialist democracy, which pays too much attention to collective interests and centralized authority; this new model tries not only to retain the advantages of the socialist democracy, but also to achieve a greater degree of civil liberty and improvements in the democratic process, so that under the protection of the relevant institutions various confl icts can be continu- ously resolved, unnecessary social unrest and its devastating consequences can be avoided, and ultimately a harmonious coexistence of all parties can be attained. This project is strong in theoretical analysis and empirical study; the analytical framework is well defi ned and the logical reasoning is solid; the content is rich with in-depth demonstration, and the proposed design of institutional develop- ment is clear and practical; all these make this study a valuable reference for policymakers. O verall, the research result is a very important contribution to the fi eld of politi- cal science. Therefore, it is my pleasure to recommend this achievement to the society and the readers. I anticipate seeing further studies to address this research topic, and expect the desired success of related reforms and innovative practices. Ning Sao Professor, Director Public Policy Institute School of Government, Peking University January 30, 2013 Foreword II T oday, after the reform and opening up, China has come to a critical period of transformation and development, facing the diffi cult task of deepening reform as well as the serious challenges of social confl icts. The issue of how to further promote political reform has been put on the agenda and drawn attention from all walks of life. However, what is the direction for China’s political reform? What is the model of a socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics? How can the political construction be promoted in a way that not only makes sure that socialist democracy continues to improve, but also avoids or reduces unneces- sary social strife and confl ict in China? How can the confl icts and contradictions in social progress be solved through the reform of the political system, while the harmony and stability of the society can be maintained? These are important research topics and practical issues for the academia and the administrators to ponder and explore. Professor Peng Zongchao and other scholars undertake this academic and historical mission. After years of collaborative research, they propose a cooperative-harmonious democracy that draws on cooperative game theory and Chinese traditional thoughts: “harmony and cooperation” thought and “people- oriented” thought. This concept is not only theoretically innovative, but also practically valuable to improve China’s democratic reality. The study caught my attention when it commenced several years ago, and now I am very pleased to see its overall results. The study is a valuable theoretical innovation, and a signifi cant achievement in promoting the interdisciplinary research of political science and public management; the study contains in-depth analyses on several cases of political reform and innovative public management practices, and the policy suggestions proposed is a valuable reference for policymakers. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the publication of the research result to advance related researches and reforms and make a valuable contribution to the demo- cratic development of China. Xue Lan Professor, Dean School of Public Policy and Management Tsinghua University January 31, 2013