Contents ; List of Tables and Figures iv ; Preface vii ; List of Abbreviations xii ; Chapter 1: Introduction: The Contingent Middle Class 1 ; Chapter 2: China's Middle Class: Definition and Evolution 36 ; Chapter 3: How Does the Middle Class View Democracy and the Government? 93 ; Chapter 4: Why Does or Does Not the Middle Class Support Democracy? 130 ; Chapter 5: The Impact of Democratic Support on the Middle Class's Political Behavior 167 ; Chapter 6: Conclusion: Contingent Democratic Supporters and Prospects for Democracy 209 ; Appendix: List of In-Depth Interviews Conducted in Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi'an in 2008 240 ; References 252 ; Index 277

"Jie Chen is correct that no topic is more central for the future of US-China relations than understanding the political values and behaviors of the rising generation of college educated professionals and managers. Using extensive survey and interview data from three of China's most important cities, Chen successfully explains the challenges and consequences of engaging this group of 'contingent democratic supporters' into the next phase of China's economic and political transformations." -Deborah Davis, Yale University "This arresting study provides a firm analytical foundation for assessing the chances of leadership by China's emergent middle class in any coming regime shift toward democratization. Chen ingeniously draws on his own probing surveys in three major Chinese cities, and, on the basis of telling distinctions that he establishes between the middle and the lower classes and between state-employed and non-state-employed middle class segments, he is able to answer crucial queries about the circumstances under which, and the likely possibilities for, a critical shift in the stance of this pivotal group in the near term. Everything hinges on the nature of the class's current linkage with and stance toward the state and factors that might alter that. A must-read for anyone concerned about China's political future." -Dorothy Solinger, University of California, Irvine "We learn from this book not just why China's middle class supports the communist regime but also how this could change if its prospects worsen or its ties to the state weaken. This will be mandatory reading in Beijing, and should be elsewhere." - Bruce Gilley, Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University and author of China's Democratic Future: How It Will Happen and Where It Will Lead "Does China's growing middle class represent a catalyst for democracy? Based on probability sampling of three cities and extensive field research, Jie Chen shows us why the expectations of modernization theory are not borne out by China's experience." -Kellee S. Tsai, Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University and author of Capitalism without Democracy: The Private Sector in Contemporary China "Jie Chen has written an accessible contribution to the theoretical debates on the relationship between development and democracy, with findings that are relevant to issues of late and late-late developers, post-Communist transition, and authoritarian states in general, as well as to the crucial questions of the role of middle class in democratic transitions and in China in particular.His findings should make scholars and politicians alike sit up and take notice." -Michelle S. Mood, Kenyon College

Selling point: based on unique set of data from recent probability-sample surveys and interviews in three major Chinese cities Selling point: includes data from both middle-class and non-middle-class populations, enabling cross-class analysis Selling point: utilizes the 'contingent' approach to analyze the middle class's orientation toward democracy in China

Jie Chen is William Borah Distinguished Professor of Political Science, serves as Dean of the College of Graduate Studies at University of Idaho. He also holds the titles of the Changjiang Scholar Chair Professorship and Zhiyuan Chair Professorship bestowed, respectively, by the Ministry of Education, PRC, and by Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. He has authored and co-authored six books, including Popular Political Support in Urban China (Stanford University Press, 2004), and Allies of the State: China's Private Entrepreneurs and Democratic Change (with Bruce Dickson; Harvard University Press, 2010), and many articles, which appeared in scholarly journals, such as Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Public Opinion Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, the China Quarterly, Asian Survey, Modern China, and Journal of Contemporary China.

Selling point: based on unique set of data from recent probability-sample surveys and interviews in three major Chinese cities Selling point: includes data from both middle-class and non-middle-class populations, enabling cross-class analysis Selling point: utilizes the 'contingent' approach to analyze the middle class's orientation toward democracy in China