Atlanta (September 24, 2023) – Political selection is about how individuals are selected to political office—and this substantially determines the quality of governance. The evidence favors democratic elections as the selection institution that produces high governance quality. Yet authoritarian China, where a communist party monopolizes the selection of all officials of importance, presents a sophisticated and, by some measures, successful contrast to liberal democratic versions of political selection. Understanding how and how much the preferences of the few at the political center in Beijing systematically shape the composition and actions of the tens of thousands of leaders who manage politics, society, and the economy across China is foundational to understanding China.

Please join Georgia Tech Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and China Research Center for a talk by Professor Melanie Manion (Duke University) on this important question.

Dr. anion is Vor Broker Family Professor of Political Science at Duke University. She studied philosophy and political economy at Peking University in the late 1970s, was trained in Far Eastern studies at McGill University and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and earned her doctorate in political science at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on contemporary authoritarianism, with empirical work on bureaucracy, corruption, information, and representation in China. In the 2000s, Dr. Manion accompanied the Carter Center on village and township election observation missions in China.

The event will be held Tuesday, October 24 between 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM ET. It will be held in hybrid format, with the in-person event taking place at the Sweet Auburn Room in Georgia Tech’s Exhibition Hall (460 4th St NW, Atlanta, GA 30332).