Ever since Deng Xiaoping effectively de-radicalized China in the 1980s, there have been many debates about which path China would follow. Would it democratize? Would it embrace capitalism? Would its economy become a powerhouse despite continued CCP rule? One debate that did not occur in any
serious way, however, was whether Maoism would undergo a resurgence.
Against all expectation, however, events of the decade suggest that Mao Zedong has made a political comeback. As Jude Blanchette details in China's New Red Guards, two worrying trends in contemporary China point to this
revival. First, an increasingly popular and hard-edged form of nationalism that is reflexively anti-Western has taken root. The second is an unapologetic embrace of extreme authoritarianism that draws direct inspiration from the Maoist era. China's assertive stance in the South China Sea and
anti-Japanese rhetoric represents the former, and the massive crackdown on liberal thought since Xi Jinping assumed the presidency represents the latter. The result is plain to see: a more authoritarian and more militaristic China.
Centered around a cast of nationalist intellectuals and
activists who have helped unleash a wave of populist enthusiasm and nostalgia for the Great Helmsman's policies, China's New Red Guards not only will reshape our understanding of the political forces driving contemporary China, it will also demonstrates how ideologies can survive and prosper
despite pervasive rumors of their demise.
Introduction
1. New Youth
2. Breaking the Taboo
3. Sing Red, Strike Black
4. The Race Traitor Mao Yushi
5. Hostile Forces
6. Commanding the Gun
7. Never Forget Class Struggle!
Conclusion
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Jude Blanchette is Senior Advisor and China Practice Lead at Crumpton Group. Previously, he was assistant director of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego.
Powerful Patriots - Jessica Chen Weiss
The China Reader - Edited by David Shambaugh
China's Quest - John W. Garver
Dancing with the Devil - Yi-min Lin
Deng Xiaoping - Alexander V. Pantsov and Steven I. Levine
China Goes Global - David Shambaugh
