May 5 | Book Discussion
Weiser Hall 447 | 3 – 4.30 pm
Speaker: Xiaobo Lü (Associate Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley)
Moderator: Zhen Zhang (Political Science PhD student)
Book Title: Lü, Xiaobo. Domination and Mobilization: The Rise and Fall of Political Parties in China’s Republican Era. Cambridge University Press, 2025.
Format: In-person
Domination and Mobilization examines the dramatic rise of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the unexpected downfall of the Kuomintang (KMT) in Republican China. The book argues that domination and mobilization are central to how revolutionary parties build organizational strength and seize state power. In particular, it shows how the CCP’s mass mobilization infrastructure, initially a liability, became a major wartime asset, while the KMT’s elite-based mobilization strategy proved increasingly fragile under the pressures of war and leadership weakness.
For our discussion, please read the following chapters:
- Chapter 1,“The Reversal of Fortune of Revolutionary Parties” (pp. 1–30)
- Chapter 5, “The CCP: Elite Conflict & Party Struggle (1921–1934)” (pp. 109–136)
- Chapter 6, “Mao’s Rise and the Birth of a Strong Party (1935–1945)” (pp. 137–151)
Recommended:
Chapter 2, “A Theory of Party Building by Revolutionary Parties” (pp. 31–54)
Chapter 1 introduces the book’s central questions, argument, and broader significance. Chapters 5 and 6 then trace the internal development of the CCP, focusing first on elite conflict and party fragility, and then on Mao’s rise and the emergence of a stronger party-building strategy. Chapter 2 is recommended for those who would like a fuller view of the book’s theoretical framework on party building, resource mobilization, and domination.
