Jérôme Doyon (University of Oxford)

Since the beginning of the reform era in 1978, the decreasing importance of ideology and the alternative career options provided by a liberalized employment market have made the Chinese Party-State’s ability to attract recruits and maintain their commitment all the more puzzling. If ideology and material gain cannot fully account for it, what motivates young Chinese’s commitment to a long-term career in the party-state? This talk tackles this question by analyzing the first steps of political professionalization in the CCP’s youth organizations and unveiling the crucial role these institutions play in political recruitment.