Beyond Growth
Open Access DepositedThe CCP’s Structural Legitimacy Crisis in a Post-Performance Era
This thesis examines the evolving foundations of political legitimacy in contemporary China, focusing on how internal economic and institutional transformations have strained the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) long-standing performance-based legitimacy model. While the Party has historically derived authority from its ability to deliver sustained growth and social stability, this developmental compact is increasingly undercut by structural inequality, exclusionary governance mechanisms, and declining public trust. Through an analysis of China’s shift to innovation-driven growth, the continued marginalization of migrant communities under the hukou system, and the emotional disengagement of youth and the middle class, the study reveals a legitimacy model fraying from within. What emerges is not an imminent crisis, but a gradual erosion—a “quiet exit” from belief, marked by disillusionment and political apathy. The thesis argues that unless the CCP moves beyond output-based metrics and reimagines inclusion in both institutional and emotional terms, its ability to sustain legitimacy will remain fragile. This study contributes to the literature on authoritarian resilience by emphasizing the role of internal, non-revolutionary pressures in reshaping state-society relations in post-reform China.
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