Comparing China and Liberal Democracies from a Regime Perspective

The University of Chicago Center in Beijing
20th floor, Culture Plaza
No. 59A Zhong Guan Cun Street
Haidian District Beijing 100872

Dr. Hendriks reflected on the deep cultural differences between China and Europe. He has developed a new social theory for comparing the fundamental power structures of radically different societies. Applying this theory to the comparison of China and European liberal democracies, he showed that Chinese society, though riddled with contradictions, has been slowly moving toward the social pluralism that underlies liberal democracies.

Bio: Dr. Eric C. Hendriks is a postdoctoral fellow in the sociology department of Peking University. He studied philosophy, sociology and history at the University of Chicago, Utrecht University, the University of Göttingen, UC Berkeley, and the University of Mannheim, and previously worked for Utrecht University.