Compensation and the Consolidation of Authoritarian Power: Evidence from China’s 2016 PLA Reform
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
- Venue
- Main building, SOAS University of London
- Room
- RB01
- Event type
- Seminar
About this event
In this seminar, Professor Victor Shih will examine the dynamics of the path to power consolidation through China’s 2016 reform of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The extant literature suggests that a dramatic move to weaken the power of a large segment of the military elite would invite collective resistance against the dictator. Yet, other theoretical work suggests that the dictator can divide even a powerful elite by offering selective incentives to a subset, thus forestalling collective resistance even in the midst of a naked power grab. Professor Victor Shih will examine the dynamics of this path to power consolidation through China’s 2016 reform of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He will draw on an original database of Chinese top leaders’ activities and factional ties with PLA officers to show Xi Jinping compensated senior officers in units affected by the reform without displaying favouritism to his followers during its gestation period. After the reform, however, factionalism dominated instead. The seminar unpacks how a dictator personalises political power in a highly institutionalised setting.
About the speaker
Victor Shih holds the Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He is appointed as the new director of the 21st Century China Center, effective July 1, 2023. Shih is an expert on the politics of China’s fiscal and financial policies, as well as the elite politics of China. He was the first analyst to identify the risk of massive local government debt, and is the author of two books published by the Cambridge University Press, entitled "Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation" and "Coalitions of the Weak: Elite Politics in China from Mao’s Stratagem to the Rise of Xi." He is also editor of "Economic Shocks and Authoritarian Stability: Duration, Institutions and Financial Conditions," published by the University of Michigan Press. An active member of the China Data Lab, he is also constructing a large database on biographical information of elites in China, as well as the activities of the elite.
Previously a principal in The Carlyle Group’s global market strategy group, Shih is a PI or co-PI on several research projects on China funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Henry Luce Foundation and Smith Richardson Foundation.
Chair: Professor Steve Tsang, Director, SOAS China Institute
Registration
This event is free to attend, but registration is required. Please note that seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Organiser
Contact
- Email: sci@soas.ac.uk
Photo credit: Gigi on Unsplash
