The Democratic Consequences of Socioeconomic Modernization - Why isn't China Free?

Sammanfattning: In this thesis a study of modernization theory and China is conducted. Why has China, despite socioeconomic modernization, not started to democratize? China has opened up during the three most recent decades and modernized rapidly. Poverty has decreased, urbanization has occurred, the agricultural literacy has increased and income has raised. Still, China is a country where political freedom is very limited. Outlying cases where socioeconomic modernization has occurred without being accompanied by democracy are looked in to. It is found that in most cases, oil is the explanation to democratic deficit in modernized countries. The case of China, however, proves to be different and we have to look for other explanations to its democratic deficit. In the end, we find that modernization theory's heavy focus on offering a structural explanation to democracy makes it blind to the actions of autocratic regimes, such as China?s. By promoting modernization, it has been able to legitimize its rule, and it has worked to limit citizens? access to means of coordinating opposition activity, for example by controlling internet usage.