Previous Issues

Guided by Theories of modernization, the article has investigated the likelihood’s development of Political and Social Polarization in China as a response to the process of reform and modernization. Results of the study indicate that political and social polarization, in the form of numerous conflicting groups at various levels, has started to emerge substantially during the 1978-1989. In addition, the study shows that ideological, material and status interests, as they have been touched upon by changes in the social structure and development of issues and problems, are to a larger extent responsible for such polarization. Consequently, the study, having tested the applicability of the modernization theory with respect to the Chinese case, has greatly enhanced the theoretical value of the model itself. Having accomplished this as well as having shed some light on the relationship between the state and the emerging groups, the study, however, suggests that other areas, such as the dynamics of inter-group alliances and the state’s relation with the nationalities and minorities, need further investigation.