CONDITIONAL DEMOCRACY

how the market of ideas works, how to have influence on leaders, and in particular how to spell out acceptable criticisms in the Chinese context. She also originally shows that beyond the diversity of viewpoints, Chinese intellectuals share a technocratic vision of politics, an obsession with the meritocratic ideal and an approach to democracy based on capacity - on the conviction that the Chinese population is not yet up to the task of electing its leaders. A milestone. Pierre Rosanvallon, Collège de France The official political discourse in China is uniform and, to be frank, boring. Over the last three decades, however, Chinese intellectuals have been carrying out fascinating and often heated debates about China s political future. Drawing on extensive interviews with the key players, Émilie Frenkiel brings these debates to light. Thought-provoking and balanced, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn more about China s political possibilities. Daniel A Bell, Tsinghua University, Beijing Émilie Frenkiel s book is fascinating for all scholars that work on, or are interested in, China, but it will also be of interest for political theorists. The debate among Chinese intellectuals - especially political scientists active in the public sphere - shows how they are trying to conceptualise an original path to democracy in the twenty-first century, and demonstrates clearly that beyond the rule of the CCP, the country is moving politically very fast. This provincialises Europe and the USA