Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security
Programming China: The Communist Party’s Autonomic Approach to Managing State Security, introduces the new analytical framework called China's “Autonomic Nervous System” (ANS). The ANS framework applies complex systems management theory to explain the process the Chinese Communist Party calls “...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48547/ |
| _version_ | 1848797790368432128 |
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| author | Hoffman, Samantha R. |
| author_facet | Hoffman, Samantha R. |
| author_sort | Hoffman, Samantha R. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Programming China: The Communist Party’s Autonomic Approach to Managing State Security, introduces the new analytical framework called China's “Autonomic Nervous System” (ANS). The ANS framework applies complex systems management theory to explain the process the Chinese Communist Party calls “social management”. Through the social management process, the Party-state leadership interacts with both the Party masses and non-Party masses. The process involves shaping, managing and responding and is aimed at ensuring the People’s Republic of China’s systemic stability and legitimacy—i.e. (Party-) state security. Using the ANS framework, this thesis brings cohesion to a complex set of concepts such as “holistic” state security, grid management, social credit and national defence mobilisation. Research carried out for the thesis included integrated archival research and the author’s database of nearly 10,000 social unrest events. Through ANS, the author demonstrates that in the case of the People’s Republic of China we may be witnessing a sideways development, where authoritarianism is stabilised, largely through a way of thinking that both embodies and applies complex systems management and attempts to “automate” that process through technology designed based on the same concepts. The party's rule of China, thus, evolves away from traditional political scales like reform versus retrenchment or hard versus soft authoritarianism. The ANS framework should be seen not as an incremental improvement to current research of China’s political system but as a fundamentally different approach to researching and analysing the nature of Chinese politics. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:09:28Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-48547 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:09:28Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-485472018-04-23T09:36:56Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48547/ Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security Hoffman, Samantha R. Programming China: The Communist Party’s Autonomic Approach to Managing State Security, introduces the new analytical framework called China's “Autonomic Nervous System” (ANS). The ANS framework applies complex systems management theory to explain the process the Chinese Communist Party calls “social management”. Through the social management process, the Party-state leadership interacts with both the Party masses and non-Party masses. The process involves shaping, managing and responding and is aimed at ensuring the People’s Republic of China’s systemic stability and legitimacy—i.e. (Party-) state security. Using the ANS framework, this thesis brings cohesion to a complex set of concepts such as “holistic” state security, grid management, social credit and national defence mobilisation. Research carried out for the thesis included integrated archival research and the author’s database of nearly 10,000 social unrest events. Through ANS, the author demonstrates that in the case of the People’s Republic of China we may be witnessing a sideways development, where authoritarianism is stabilised, largely through a way of thinking that both embodies and applies complex systems management and attempts to “automate” that process through technology designed based on the same concepts. The party's rule of China, thus, evolves away from traditional political scales like reform versus retrenchment or hard versus soft authoritarianism. The ANS framework should be seen not as an incremental improvement to current research of China’s political system but as a fundamentally different approach to researching and analysing the nature of Chinese politics. 2017-12-13 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by_nc_nd https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48547/1/Hoffman%2C%20Samantha%20Student%20ID%204208393%20PHD%20THESIS%20Post%20Viva%20copy.pdf Hoffman, Samantha R. (2017) Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. state security China stability authoritarianism complex systems social control Leninism |
| spellingShingle | state security China stability authoritarianism complex systems social control Leninism Hoffman, Samantha R. Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security |
| title | Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security |
| title_full | Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security |
| title_fullStr | Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security |
| title_full_unstemmed | Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security |
| title_short | Programming China: the Communist Party’s autonomic approach to managing state security |
| title_sort | programming china: the communist party’s autonomic approach to managing state security |
| topic | state security China stability authoritarianism complex systems social control Leninism |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48547/ |