Populist Authoritarianism focuses on the Chinese Communist Party, which governs the world's largest population in a single-party authoritarian state. Wenfang Tang attempts to explain the seemingly contradictory trends of the increasing number of protests on the one hand, and the results of public opinion surveys that consistently show strong government support on the other hand. The book points to the continuity from the CCP's revolutionary experiences to its current governing style, even though China has changed in many ways on the surface in the post-Mao era. The book proposes a theoretical framework of Populist Authoritarianism with six key elements, including the Mass Line ideology, accumulation of social capital, public political activism and contentious politics, a hyper-responsive government, weak political and civil institutions, and a high level of regime trust. These traits of Populist Authoritarianism are supported by empirical evidence drawn from multiple public opinion surveys conducted from 1987 to 2015. Although the CCP currently enjoys strong public support, such a system is inherently vulnerable due to its institutional deficiency. Public opinion can swing violently due to policy failure and the up and down of a leader or an elite faction. The drastic change of public opinion cannot be filtered through political institutions such as elections and the rule of law, creating system-wide political earthquakes.

Chapter 1 CHINESE POLITICAL CULTURE AND REGIME SUSTAINABILITYIntroductionWhy Does Political Culture Matter?Mass Line: the Origin of the Populist Authoritarian Political CulturePrimitive Accumulation of Social Capital in ChinaPolitical Culture in Post-Mao ChinaThe Plan of the BookPolitical support: local vs. centerRegime stability and national identitySocial capitalPolitical trust in China and TaiwanProtest and regime sustainabilityLabor dispute resolutionPolitical trust: an experimental studyPopulist Authoritarianism: A Theoretical DiscussionUsing Survey Data to Study Political Change in ChinaChapter 2 AUTHORITARIAN REGIME SUSTAINABILITYThe Coming Collapse of China: How Soon?Modernization and democracyRegime crisisRegime durabilityHorizontal vs. vertical supportsHow Satisfied and Happy Are the Chinese?Government Dissatisfaction and Life DissatisfactionPublic Anger, Political Action and Democratic ChangeConclusionsChapter 3 NATIONALISM AND REGIME SUSTAINABILITYTheories of NationalismNationalism in ChinaSources of Chinese NationalismThe Political Consequences of Chinese NationalismConclusionsChapter 4 INTERPERSONAL TRUST AND REGIME SUSTAINABILITYThe PuzzleInterpersonal Trust and DemocracyOrigins of Interpersonal TrustConfucian TraditionSocialist LegacyEconomic Growth and MarketizationFindings I: Classification of Interpersonal TrustThree Types of Interpersonal TrustThree Types of Trust and General Interpersonal TrustFindings II Trust and Political Attitudes and BehaviorConclusionsChapter 5 POLITICAL TRUST IN CHINA AND TAIWANWhat is political trust?Competing theories of political trustPolitical mobilizationEconomic satisfactionInternal efficacyExternal efficacyCultureComparing China and Taiwan: Methods and DataMeasuring and comparing political trust in China and TaiwanMeasuring and comparing the sources of political trust in China and TaiwanMultivariate analysis of political trust in China and TaiwanConclusion and discussionChapter 6 REGIME INSPIRED CONTENTIOUS POLITICSThe Rise of Contentious Politics in ChinaThe Contentious Politics LiteratureRegime-Mobilized Contentious Politics in ChinaInstitutional Deficiencies and Populist AuthoritarianismExamples of Regime Mobilized Contentious PoliticsCase Studies and Large-N AnalysisThe Scope of Collective ActionGroup LeadersRegional DistributionMultivariate AnalysisCentral and local governmentsTargets of group actionUnfair treatmentAgeEducationGenderUrbanization and ethnicityConclusions and DiscussionChapter 7 INDIVIDUAL DISPUTE RESOLUTIONScope and Type of DisputesChannels of Dispute SettlementEstablished official channelsEmerging institutional channelsNon-institutional channelsHypothetical and actual channelsSocio-economic characteristics of dispute resolutionEconomic Organizations and the Politics of Dispute ResolutionConclusion and discussionChapter 8 POLITICAL TRUST: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDYList experimentData and methodologyFindingsRobustness CheckConclusions and DiscussionChapter 9 POPULIST AUTHORITARIANISM: A PRELIMINARY THEORETICAL DISCUSSIONKey components of the PA ModelThe Continuity of the Mass Line IdeologySocial Capital and Interpersonal TrustPolitical Contention and ParticipationWeak InstitutionsThe Hyper Responsive GovernmentStrong Political SupportThe PA Model and Civic CultureThe PA Model and the BA StateThe PA Model and the Existing Studies of Mass PoliticsThe PA Model and the Study of Comparative Politics