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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

Victor C. Shih
Victor C. Shih
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Summary

In mid-1975, a sickly Mao had one of the last meetings with the Politburo. During the meeting, Mao shook hands with the entire Politburo, probably for the last time in his life. When he greeted alternate Politburo member and Vice Premier Wu Guixian, Mao confessed, “I don’t know who you are.” An embarrassed Wu said, “Chairman, we met in 1964 during the national day parade.” Mao compounded her embarrassment by responding, “I didn’t know that” (Mao 1975).

Keywords

comparative politicsMao Zedongauthoritarian politicsdictatorsruling coalitionselite politicsinstitutionalizationsuccession politicsChinese Communist Partypurgescoupscadre promotionLeninist partyGreat Leap ForwardCultural RevolutionPeople’s Liberation ArmyZhang GuotaoPolitburoCentral Committeefactionspatrimonialism
Type
Chapter
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Coalitions of the Weak , pp. 1 - 34
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Introduction
  • Victor C. Shih, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Coalitions of the Weak
  • Online publication: 26 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009022859.001
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Introduction
  • Victor C. Shih, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Coalitions of the Weak
  • Online publication: 26 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009022859.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Victor C. Shih, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Coalitions of the Weak
  • Online publication: 26 May 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009022859.001
Available formats
×