Incisive analysis of vast country of China

Cadre Country Author: John Fitzgerald Publisher: UNSW Press RRP: $39.99 Reviewer: Mary Ann Elliott

AWARD-WINNING China historian John Fitzgerald’s wide experience and long observation of China has resulted in an incisive analysis of this vast country today.

He places special emphasis on China’s 40 million cadres – the managers and government officials employed by the ruling Communist Party to protect its great enterprise.

This group has captured the culture and wealth of China, excluding the voices of the common citizens of this powerful and diverse country.

It seems an irony that rather than embodying the principles and ideals of Communism, which he is supposed to uphold, China’s leader Xi Jinping is an authoritarian leader.

Fitzgerald explores how China really works, explaining the true nature of its Communist Party, arguing that Beijing’s huge propaganda production is “a fragile edifice built on questionable assumptions”.

At the same time he explores the extent as well as the limits of its achievements since Xi Jinping assumed power.

Cadre Country is essential and fascinating reading for anyone interested in China today.