Collaborative Research: Private Entrepreneurs as Agents of Political Change in China

该项目评估中国私营企业家作为政治变革推动者的潜力。中国私营部门的迅速发展创造了独立的财富、权力和影响力来源，许多学者认为这些是一个国家民主化的关键因素。虽然中国经济快速发展的政治含义尚未完全被认识到，但许多学者、政治家和记者预计，经济发展不仅会导致中国的民主化，而且私营企业家可能会成为这一进程中的变革推动者。以前的研究并没有显示出对这些假设的支持，但它们并不确定，仅限于一个地区或一种类型的企业。本研究在以往研究的基础上进行了改进，考虑了区域差异，测量了中国私营企业家对民主化和民主的态度和行为支持水平，并研究了这种支持的社会经济和背景决定因素。为了将我们的研究结果与以往的研究结果进行比较，包括比较研究和中国的案例研究，本调查中使用的问卷包括一套核心指标，这些指标与这些研究中使用的指标直接可比。本研究的结果将有助于解决两个关键且备受争议的理论问题：（1）在非民主国家中，哪些因素影响公民对民主和民主化的支持程度？（2）经济发展和日益繁荣如何促进民主化？特别是，调查人员感兴趣的是中国的私营企业家是否支持民主，以及他们是否以促进民主的方式行事。本项目提出的理论问题不仅来自当前关于中国民主前景的辩论，也来自学者们关于影响政治变革的文化、结构和战略变量的持续辩论，特别是民主化。更广泛的影响：研究与教育的整合：该项目包括研究生研究助理的参与，以促进其教育与原创性研究的结合。由此产生的产品也将适合作为大学教科书。新的合作：该项目是两位主要研究者之间的首次合作，也是他们与中国合作伙伴中国社会科学院戴元辰教授的首次合作。因此，这一新举措将加强他们的研究议程，促进学术交流。政策影响：该项目的研究结果将对美国外交政策产生直接影响。 更好地了解中国私营企业家的目标和偏好，以及企业家对民主的支持，对于评估政治变革的前景和制定适当的政策来促进政治变革是必要的。

This project evaluates the potential of China's private entrepreneurs to serve as agents of political change. The dramatic growth of China's private sector has created independent sources of wealth, power, and influence that many scholars have shown are key factors in a country's democratization. While the political implications of China's rapid economic development have not yet been fully realized, many scholars, politicians, and journalists anticipate not only that economic development is leading toward democratization in China, but also that private entrepreneurs are likely to be agents of change in that process. Previous studies have not shown support for these assumptions, but they are not definitive, limited either to one locale or one type of enterprise. This project improves on previous studies by accounting for regional variation, measuring the levels of attitudinal and behavioral support for democratization and democracy among China's private entrepreneurs, and examining the socioeconomic and contextual determinants of such support. In order to compare our results with previous work, both comparative studies and case studies of China, the questionnaire used in this survey includes a core set of measures that are directly comparable to those that have been used in those studies.The results from this study will help to address two critical and much debated theoretical questions: (1) What factors influence the level of support for democracy and democratization among citizens in a non-democratic country, and (2) how do economic development and rising prosperity contribute to democratization? In particular, the investigators are interested in whether private entrepreneurs in China support democracy, and whether they behave in ways that promote democratization. The theoretical questions posed by this project are derived not only from current debates about the prospects for democracy in China, but also ongoing debates among scholars regarding the cultural, structural, and strategic variables that influence political change in general, and democratization in particular.Broader Impacts: Integration of Research and Education: The project includes the participation of graduate research assistants to promote the integration of their education with original research. The resulting products will also be appropriate as college texts. New Collaboration: The proposed project is the first collaboration between the two principal investigators, and the first collaboration between either of them with the Chinese partner, Prof. Dai Yuanchen of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. This new initiative will therefore enhance their research agendas and promote scholarly communication. Policy Impact: The findings from this project will have immediate implications for American foreign policy. A better understanding of the goals and preferences of China's private entrepreneurs and the support for democracy among entrepreneurs is necessary to evaluate the prospects for political change and to devise proper policies to promote it.