AP Comparative 2012

But overall, isn’t the real question about building a political culture of nationalism, stability and unity? 

So how will the Chinese accomplish this.  Although our discussions of Chinese democracy were revealing about the motivations of the Chinese leadership – it is clear there is factional dissent within China that the government must deal with. 

Villagers in Guangdong applauding govt actions against local leaders, December 2011 (from BBC)

Tasks: 

1. BBC has published images of recent Chinese protests – please scan through images to assess the diversity of protests & government reactions

1A. For fun(!)  check out some of the contemporary Chinese artists such as the Invisible Man or AiWeiWei (assume this is his homepage), but also this Q & A in Time magazine Dec. 2011.  And the art scene in Beijing & Shanghai

2.  Please post commentary that assesses the political culture developing in China based upon your research of dissent/protest movement(s); our class discussions, Pye’s thesis of “traumatized” cultures; the official doctrine of the CCP – including Jiang Zemin’s 3 Represents & Deng Xiaoping theory.  As well as any other source you wish to use.

3.  Please remember to consider POV in all arguments