The Party Comes First: Power & Politics in Xi's China | Joseph Torigian

Описание: In Episode 423 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Joseph Torigian, an expert on the politics of authoritarian regimes and the Chinese Communist Party, with a particular focus on elite power struggles, civil-military relations, and grand strategy. Torigian is also the author of a widely discussed new book titled “The Party’s Interests Come First,” a political biography and historical analysis of Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, the leader of China and the head of the Chinese Communist Party.

In the first hour, Torigian and Kofinas trace the evolution, internal contradictions, and complex dynamics of political power and succession within the Chinese Communist Party, revealing the critical role that personal networks, ideological discipline, factional struggle, and narrative have played in shaping Chinese political history and culture. They explore several critical periods in Chinese communist party history, including Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, the period of reform and opening up under Deng Xiaoping, and the post-Tiananmen period following the 1989 crackdown.

In the second hour, Kofinas and Torigian focus on China's current leader, Xi Jinping, examining the political lessons he has drawn from the struggles endured by his father while exploring how those experiences have shaped his party loyalties and reinforced his commitment to restoring China’s greatness and securing its position on the global stage.

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00:00 Introduction
03:12  The Party's Interests Come First
04:16 Deeper Lessons from Xi Jang Hun's Life
05:35 Challenges in Researching Chinese History
10:52 Xi Jang Hun's Early Revolutionary Acts
18:18 Communist Party Struggles and Purges
23:20 Transition to Governance and Catastrophic Periods
28:46 The Trauma of Revolutionaries
29:43 The Purges and Mao's Targets
31:57 Self-Criticism in the Communist Party
34:07 Xi Hun's Role in Moderating Campaigns
36:19 Challenges of Party Implementation
38:47 Reforms Post-Cultural Revolution
41:52 Comparing China and the Soviet Union
44:51 Lessons from the Soviet Union's Collapse
46:59 The Balance of Reform and Stability
50:43 Tiananmen Square and the Berlin Wall
51:04 Xi Jinping's Rise to Power
51:43 Topics for the Second Hour

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas

Episode Recorded on 06/17/2025