About

Over its history, the People’s Republic of China has cycled through softer and harder periods of authoritarianism. This is known in China as the “fang-shou cycle.” Today, we are seeing a harder period of Chinese politics. The country’s leader, Xi Jinping, is consolidating power and cracking down on both corruption and civil liberties. What does this mean for the future of China? What lessons did the Chinese Communist Party learn from the color revolutions and the fall of the Soviet Union? Can China avoid the “middle-income trap”?  Professor David Shambaugh and Brad Carson discuss these issues in the third episode of “Jaw-Jaw,” the newest addition to the War on the Rocks family of podcasts. If you'd like to read a full transcript of this episode, click here. Biographies David Shambaugh is a professor of political science and international affairs at The George Washington University, where he is also director of the university’s China Policy Program. The author of many books on China, his most recent include China’s Future (Polity Press, 2016) and China Goes Global: The Partial Power (Oxford University Press, 2013). Brad Carson is a professor at the University of Virginia, where he teaches in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2005 and was undersecretary of the Army and acting undersecretary of defense for personnel & readiness in the Obama administration. He welcomes comments at brad.carson@warontherocks.com. Links Liz Economy, The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State, (Oxford University Press, 2018) Carl Minzner, End of an Era: How China's Authoritarian Revival is Undermining Its Rise, (Oxford University Press, 2018) Bruce Dickson, The Dictator's Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party's Strategy for Survival, (Oxford University Press, 2018) David Shambaugh, China's Future, (Polity, 2016)   Music and Production by Tre Hester