“Whole Process People’s Democracy” (全过程人民民主) as Applied Constitutionalism: Linking People to Governing Institutions through Socialist Constitutional Democracy and Leninist Political Parties

Abstract

Chinese Socialist (Marxist-Leninist) democracy has acquired a richer theoretical foundation in the last decade. This contribution considers the emerging theory of Chinese democratic constitutionalism and its application in the form of 全过程人民民主 (Whole Process People’s Democracy). It explores the pivotal role of structured and multilayered consultation in the construction of democratic institutions in China that is meant to overcome the contradictions between mass line democracy and the foundational constitutional principle of people’s democratic dictatorship, while coordinating the roles of collective organizations under the leadership of the vanguard party. The consequences of this endogenous approach to the rationalization of democratic theory is explored with comparisons to Cuban Marxist-Leninist practice and those of liberal democracy.

Keywords: Political Parties; Representative Democracy; Marxism-Leninism; China; Liberal Democracy; Political Theory; Constitutionalism; Representation; Elections

JEL Classification: F13, H11, K19, K10, N45, P26, P48, P51