China's Security State
Philosophy, Evolution, and Politics

Describes the creation and evolution of Chinese security and intelligence agencies as well as their role in influencing Chinese Communist Party politics throughout the party's history.

Xuezhi Guo (Author)

9781107688841, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 March 2014

502 pages, 18 b/w illus. 1 map 18 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.66 kg

'The book is a must-read for scholars studying the CCP's coercive apparatuses, particularly for scholars focused on 1927–1978. These readers will find a wealth of information gathered from a large number of Chinese-only primary sources, and they will be able to check Guo's specific arguments against a larger body of literature.' William Welsh, Journal of Chinese Political Science

China's Security State describes the creation, evolution, and development of Chinese security and intelligence agencies as well as their role in influencing Chinese Communist Party politics throughout the party's history. Xuezhi Guo investigates patterns of leadership politics from the vantage point of security and intelligence organization and operation by providing new evidence and offering alternative interpretations of major events throughout Chinese Communist Party history. This analysis promotes a better understanding of the CCP's mechanisms for control over both Party members and the general population. This study specifies some of the broader implications for theory and research that can help clarify the nature of Chinese politics and potential future developments in the country's security and intelligence services.

1. Historical evolution of public security organizations
2. From the social affairs department to the ministry of public security
3. Leading central security agency: Central Guard Bureau
4. Elite security corps: Central Guard Regiment
5. Armed police and its historical role in the CCP politics
6. People's armed police in the reform era
7. Garrison commands
8. CCP intelligence agencies and services in the revolutionary era
9. The intelligence apparatus and services under PRC
10. The PLA, security services, and the elite politics.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Asian history [HBJF]