The Dynamics of China's Transition from Totalitarianism to Post-totalitarianism, 1976-1981
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2026
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Post-Mao Chinese politics is often portrayed as a decisive rupture from Maoist rule, commonly framed as a transformation from revolution to reform. However, the resurgence of Maoist elements under Xi Jinping challenges this narrative and calls for a re-examination of China’s post-Mao political transformation. This study argues that these puzzles can only be addressed by reconceptualizing the political transformation from the Mao era to the post-Mao era as a transition from totalitarianism to post-totalitarianism.
Rejecting single-turning-point and single-cause explanations, the study adopts a multi-factor analytical framework that integrates institutional structures, elite politics, social forces, and external influences, treating the transition as a dynamic process. It distinguishes between two phases: an initial phase driven by systemic decay and elite survival following the erosion of Maoist charismatic authority, and a second phase shaped by deliberate elite intervention, as rehabilitated Veteran Revolutionaries—most notably Deng Xiaoping—dismantled the Maoist totalitarian core while preserving political monism.
The study argues that China’s post-totalitarian regime began to crystallize when political elites controlling dominant resources recognized that political monism constituted the ultimate boundary of tolerable de-totalitarianization. This origin logic accounts for the regime’s enduring combination of political rigidity and non-political flexibility.
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