With unprecedented access to Chinese leaders at all levels of the party and government, best-selling author David Lampton tells the insider story of China's political elite from their own perspectives. Based on over five hundred interviews, Following the Leader offers a rare glimpse into how the attitudes and ideas of those at the very top have evolved over the past four decades. Here China's rulers explain their strategies and ideas for moving the nation forward, share their reflections on matters of leadership and policy, and discuss the challenges that keep them awake at night. We learn of a China where party rulers have become progressively less dominant, bureaucracy and society have become more fragmented, and the people are becoming more powerful. As the Chinese Communist Party installs its new president, Xi Jinping, for a ten-year term, questions abound. How will the country move forward as its explosive rate of economic growth begins to slow? How does it plan to deal with international calls for human rights reform and cope with an aging and increasingly polarized population? In this unprecedented book we learn for the first time how China's leaders see the nation's political future, as well as about its strategic influence on the world at large.

About the Author
David M. Lampton is Professor of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Director of China Studies at SAIS. Former President of the National Committee on United States--China Relations, he was the inaugural winner of the Scalapino Prize (2010). His books include The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds (2008), Same Bed, Different Dreams: Managing U.S.-China Relations, 1989--2000 (2001), and The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform (2001).

Reviews
"Provides an exceptional explanation of the astounding changes that China has experienced, especially since the late 1970s, and offers a sober assessment of the challenges the nation currently faces... This important work on understanding contemporary China is essential for all China watchers. Its concise and lucid treatment of the topic will serve as valuable reading to experts and novices alike." -- Joshua Wallace Library Journal "Beautifully written, and dotted with poetic passages unexpected in a book of political analysis." -- Justin Jon Rudelson Pacific Affairs "Insightful analysis;" "One of the most balanced scholarly accounts of China's political development." -- Baogang Guo Journal of Chinese Political Science "An authoritative depiction of how China's leaders view their domestic and international environments ... It is all too rare to have a single book address issues of elite politics, domestic governance, civil-military relations, and foreign policy, but Lampton does so effectively in this book." Political Science Quarterly



Book Information
ISBN 9780520281219
Author David M. Lampton
Format Hardback
Page Count 312
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 26mm