Institutional Genes
Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism

Using 'institutional genes' to trace totalitarianism's origins and uncover its rise and endurance in China from its history to today.

Chenggang Xu (Author)

9781108841696, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 June 2025

800 pages
23.4 x 16 x 5 cm, 1.29 kg

'… a sweeping interpretation of how China's institutional structures emerged, evolved and ultimately produced a distinctive form of totalitarianism. Xu is widely recognised for his work on Chinese economic institutions, and this substantial work consolidates his previous research … The book is an important theoretical and empirical resource for scholars. Most importantly, it presents an ambitious and innovative account of Chinese totalitarianism. By tracing the interaction of imperial Chinese, Soviet Russian and communist legacies, Xu contributes valuable insights to contemporary debates on China.' Wai Lau, Europe-Asia Studies

This book explores the origins and evolution of China's institutions and communist totalitarianism in general. Contemporary China's fundamental institution is communist totalitarianism. Introducing the concept of “institutional genes” (IGs), the book examines how the IGs institutional genes of Soviet Russia merged with those of the Chinese imperial system, creating a durable totalitarian regime with Chinese characteristics – Regionally Administered Totalitarianism. Institutional Genes are fundamental institutional elements that self-replicate and guide institutional changes and are empirically identifiable. By analyzing the origins and evolution of IGs institutional genes in communist totalitarianism from Europe and Russia, as well as those from the Chinese Empire, the Chinese Communist Revolution, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and post-Mao reforms, the book elucidates the rise and progression of communist totalitarianism in China. The ascent of communist China echoes Mises' warning that efforts to halt totalitarianism have failed. Reversing this trend necessitates a thorough understanding of totalitarianism.

1. Introduction
2. Institutions and Institutional Genes: Methodology
3. Property Rights as a Form of Institutional Gene
4. The Emergence and Evolution of the Institutional Genes of the Chinese Imperial System
5. The Imperial Examinations and Confucianism: The Institutional Genes for Imperial Personnel and Ideology
6. The Institutional Genes of Totalitarian Ideology
7. Institutional Genes of Totalitarianism: The Tsarist Empire
8. The Birth of Bolshevik Totalitarianism
9. The Failure of Reform and Revolution in the Late Qing Period
10. Building China's Bolshevik Party
11. Building a Totalitarian Regime: From the Chinese Soviet to the People's Republic
12. Regionally Administered Totalitarianism
13. The Post-Mao Reform and Its Cessation: The Rise and Fall of Regionally Decentralized Authoritarianism
14. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Public finance [KFFD]