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Institutions Without Belief: Incalculability and Legitimate Domination Under the Chinese Communist Party
Author(s) -
Truong Nhu
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
asian politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1943-0787
pISSN - 1943-0779
DOI - 10.1111/aspp.12351
Subject(s) - legitimation , legitimacy , authoritarianism , conceptualization , institutionalisation , communism , extant taxon , scholarship , political science , law and economics , sociology , positive economics , political economy , law , public administration , democracy , economics , politics , evolutionary biology , biology , artificial intelligence , computer science
Despite the focus in the extant literature on the significance of institutions to the stability of nondemocratic regimes, little attention has been paid to the relationship between institutionalization and authoritarian legitimation. In a review of three recent works, the article proposes the importance of considering this relationship alongside analyses of institutional change within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Based on Max Weber's conceptualization of the rational‐legal basis of legitimate domination, the article thus examines the extent to which institutionalization contributes to the legitimacy and durability of the CCP. Through a survey of the relevant scholarship, the article finally suggests that institutions under the CCP lack the high degree of “calculability” required under Weber's definition of rational‐legal institutions, which raises questions regarding their ability to command “legal authority.”