Is China Ready for Democracy?

Issue Date Spring 1990
Volume 1
Issue 2
Page Numbers 50-61
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Read the full essay here.

About the Author

Andrew J. Nathan is Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and a member of the steering committee of the Asian Barometer Survey. His books include China’s Search for Security (with Andrew Scobell, 2012).

View all work by Andrew J. Nathan

Further Reading

Volume 11, Issue 4

Comparing East Asia and Latin America: Stirrings of Mutual Recognition

Global trends toward economic and political liberalization are presenting East Asian and Latin American democracies with increasingly convergent international opportunities and constraints.

Volume 23, Issue 1

China and East Asian Democracy: The Patterns of History

The legitimacy and appeal of democracy in East Asia will depend on how democratic countries in the region stack up against China.

Volume 24, Issue 1

China at the Tipping Point? Goodbye to Gradualism

China is heading toward a tipping point, with two likely scenarios for how a political opening will come about. Most Chinese intellectuals think that only gradualism—“slow and steady,” step-by-step reform—can…