Remaking the CCP's Ideology: Determinants, Progress, and Limits under Hu Jintao

Abstract

Two decades after the predicted “end of ideology”, we are observing a re-emphasis on party ideology under Hu Jintao. The paper looks into the reasons for and the factors shaping the re-formulation of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ideology since 2002 and assesses the progress and limits of this process. Based on the analysis of recent elite debates, it is argued that the remaking of ideology has been the consequence of perceived challenges to the legitimacy of CCP rule. Contrary to many Western commentators, who see China's successful economic performance as the most important if not the only source of regime legitimacy, Chinese party theorists and scholars have come to regard Deng Xiaoping's formula of performance-based legitimacy as increasingly precarious. In order to tackle the perceived “performance dilemma” of party rule, the adaptation and innovation of party ideology is regarded as a crucial measure to relegitimize CCP rule.

Populism versus Neoliberalism

“…Finally, to probe the ideological underpinnings of our publications’ health reform reporting, we also examined the language they used. Here, we focused on whether reporting reflected what some researchers have identified as an early twenty-first-century “renaissance of socialism and Marxism” and renewed emphasis on equality and justice found in formal statements of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideology (Holbig, 2009) or whether they retained neoliberal preferences that had dominated 1990s economic and social policy discussions. The CCP’s formal ideology has shifted substantially since 1978.…”

“…"Evenness" occurred 28, 12, and 30 times respectively. But our publications used "justice" 正 义-a concept Holbig (2009) argues is important in early twenty-first-century CCP ideology-only 11 times.…”

The Discipline of Happiness: The Foucauldian Use of the “Positive Energy” Discourse in China’s Ideological Works

“…Ideological work is also associated with non-persuasive means, including coordinating sentiments, fostering identity (Perry, 2017), signalling state power (Huang, 2015), agenda setting and attention management (Chan, 2007), especially distracting from controversial discussions (King et al, 2017), and so on. These literatures remind us to examine both persuasive and non-persuasive parts of ideology, focusing on not only beliefs but also perceptual, emotional, and behavioural aspects, especially under the background of reideologisation, which scholars have observed since Hu's time, and reached an even higher level under Xi (Holbig, 2009(Holbig, , 2018.…”

Chinese-Style Constitutionalism

“…Given these pressing difficulties, the CCP must seize ideological and theoretical innovations. This requires not only a reinterpretation of the "Three Represents" but also a projection of the "progressiveness" of the CCP as a vanguard party, and the provision of populist explanations for important thoughts such as the "Three Represents" (Holbig, 2009).…”