Acknowledgments

I started research for this book in 2015 as a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This journey ultimately became a sobering learning experience about China. Over the years, I spoke with hundreds of people in government and the business community – conversations that are now nearly impossible to have. Because of these conversations, what began as a focus on infrastructure politics and public service provision expanded into an inquiry into how authoritarian institutions shape the decisions of government officials and businesspeople, and how those decisions affect the business landscape, development quality, and sustainability in China. Research for this book has left me deeply concerned about China’s trajectory under its current political economy model, though it has also strengthened my respect for the remarkable resilience of the Chinese people.

I am thus deeply grateful to all of my interviewees – more than two hundred in total – for candidly sharing their experiences and views, often at personal and political risk. I also thank those who generously connected me to them, including colleagues in Chinese academia, journalism, and nonprofit organizations. Given the political climate in China today, I will not name them here – but they know who they are, and I am indebted to each and every one of them for their help.

This book would not have been possible without the guidance of a group of outstanding scholars at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Melanie Manion – my PhD advisor, and the academic “godmother” of the “Madison mafia” – is the most generous and supportive advisor one could hope for. She introduced me to political science, taught me how to conduct research, and encouraged me to pursue topics I was passionate about. Her steady guidance and advice at every stage of my intellectual journey were crucial to my transformation from a green PhD student into an independent scholar.

Edward Friedman, a towering figure in the China field with unparalleled insight, offered nothing but encouragement over many lunches. My later research interests in global China were sparked by conversations with Ed and my time as his teaching assistant. David Weimer, wise and warm-hearted, guided me through the otherwise intimidating world of causal mechanisms during countless office hours and introduced me to the literature on public management. Aseema Sinha played a key role in my conversion from development economics to political science. She also encouraged me to study India as a comparative case, even though it ultimately didn’t make it into the final book. Yoshiko Herrera, Scott Gehlbach, and Rikhil Bhavnani all patiently helped me revise my dissertation until I could finally be happy with it. Nadav Shelef, Nils Ringe, John Ahlquist, and Ian Coxhead were mentors who supported not just my intellectual development but also cared about me as a person. Russel Dimond at the Social Science Research Services practically gave me free lessons in statistical modeling and was instrumental in building my quantitative skills. This book owes much to the guidance, patience, and generosity of these remarkable scholars.

The Madison mafia – a group of political science PhD students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a shared interest in China – offered camaraderie and an intellectually stimulating environment for discussion and debate throughout my PhD years. Meina Cai, Charles Chaoyi Chang, Dominic DeSapio, Brandon Lamson, Ruoxi Li, Leah Larson-Rabin, Kerry Ratigan, Kristin Vekasi, Samantha Vortherms, and Vera Cai Zuo each gave me friendship and support, and all helped sharpen my thinking about China through countless seminars, lunches, and dinners organized by Melanie Manion and often attended by Sida Liu. To this day, we still celebrate each other’s successes – big and small.

I also made lifelong friends with brilliant and kind people I met in Madison. Jing Lu is more like a sister than a friend; we’ve faced tough times together. David Ohls, Leticia Bode, and Charles Taylor – fellow political scientists and enthusiastic cooks – kept me company through the ups and downs of graduate school. Now, they and their growing families continue to share food and laughter with me in Washington, DC. Camilla Reuterswärd, Delgerjargal Uvsh, and I bonded over our shared experiences as international students and comparative political scientists conducting research in difficult environments. Our sisterhood continues to thrive over Zoom, despite the distances between us. A writing group with Bo Wang and Frank Lefeng Lin kept my dissertation on track – and Bo and his husband Sam made some of the best hotpots I’ve ever had. Maayan Mor and Yang Gu were always a joy to be around, and we shared so much laughter together.

I had the fortune of being a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Anthony Saich at Harvard University during the 2018–2019 academic year. Tony is one of the most generous people I’ve met in academia – and he also happens to make a great shepherd’s pie. His depth of knowledge and unwavering support for junior scholars have set an example I aspire to follow. Edward Cunningham, who shares my interest in de-privatization, offered invaluable feedback on my work. Elizabeth Plantan was the best officemate one could ask for; our shared concern for academic freedom in China led us to coauthor another exciting project. Saul Wilson read my work more times than I can count and is still not bored with it – something I admire, along with the fact that he gets to live in India. Joshua Freedman, Jundai Liu, and Christopher Carothers were all at different stages in their writing, but we bonded over a healthy dose of groans about our progress. It was also during this year that I got to know Yasheng Huang and Yuhua Wang, both of whom generously shared their insights on China and academia.

At a critical stage in writing this manuscript, a group of scholars, teachers, and friends generously offered their time, expertise, and encouragement, helping me to significantly strengthen this book. Edward Cunningham, Bruce Dickson, Martin Dimitrov, Yasheng Huang, Edmund Malesky, Andrew Mertha, Margaret Pearson, Anthony Saich, Kellee Tsai, and Yuhua Wang attended my book workshops at Harvard and Georgetown, read the entire manuscript with great care, and offered invaluable feedback that shaped both its content and structure. Jérôme Doyon also read the full manuscript and shared thoughtful suggestions. Lynette Ong, Samantha Vortherms, Kerry Ratigan, Rebecca Perlman, and Douglas Fuller each took time from their busy schedules to read individual chapters and offered suggestions and insights. Denise van der Kamp and Diana Fu shared their book proposal with me and provided invaluable feedback. Kristen Looney shared her own writing experiences to help me improve my own. Martin Dimitrov, Carole Sargent, Yuhua Wang, and Yasheng Huang advised me on publication strategies, and Vivian Jing Zhan offered insights into the book publication process. Hiroki Takeuchi stayed in conversation with me over the years and never wavered in his belief in my work.

At the McCourt School of Public Policy, my kind and brilliant colleagues provided much-appreciated support during the final stages of this book manuscript. Kent Weaver read multiple versions, offered thoughtful feedback, and generously treated me to ice cream and lunches to discuss the work. Whenever I needed a second opinion – on anything from research to teaching – Kent was the person I turned to for guidance. William Gormley kindly volunteered to host my book workshop at Georgetown University. When I struggled with key decisions about the manuscript, Bill weighed each option with great care and talked through them with me as if it were his own book. George Akerlof even started sketching out formal models in case I wanted to incorporate a mathematical approach into my theorizing. When it became clear that his Nobel-attested insights exceeded what I could feasibly include, he instead helped me sharpen some key concepts in the book. Raphael Calel asked probing questions that helped me organize my thoughts and patiently listened as I talked through ideas over many coffees and lunches.

Other McCourt colleagues cheered me on and celebrated every milestone, no matter how small. I am grateful to Michael Bailey, NaLette Brodnax, Jacobus Cilliers, Maria Cancian, Jishnu Das, Thomas DeLeire, Eugene Dionne, Nada Eissa, Judith Feder, Gaël Giraud, Nora Gordon, James Habyarimana, Andrea Headley, Pamela Herd, Harry Holzer, Karen Huang, Sebastian Jilke, Wesley Joe, Rebecca Johnson, Dan Kelemen, Andreas Kern, Adriana Kugler, Jonathan Ladd, Jean Mitchell, Donald Moynihan, Nuku Ofori, Evelyn Patterson, Eva Rosen, Krista Ruffini, Lutz Sager, Barbara Schone, Adam Thomas, Jennifer Tobin, and Andrew Zeitlin, among others – for their kindness, camaraderie, and support.

At Georgetown University at large, I benefited from a collegial environment marked by vibrant academic discussions and the exchange of ideas. Nita Rudra and Apichai Shipper offered mentorship and friendship over the years, helping me navigate a wide range of issues. Many colleagues contributed to my growth as a scholar in one way or another, among them are Tariq Ali, Laia Balcells, Jenny Guardado, Arie Kacowicz, Diana Kim, Marko Klasnja, Joanna Lewis, Lizhi Liu, Kristen Looney, Dennis McNamara, James Millward, Abraham Newman, Irfan Nooruddin, Ken Opalo, Dennis Quinn, Mark Richardson, George Shambaugh, Joel Simmons, Yuhki Tajima, Yuye Tong, and Erik Voeten. I am grateful for their feedback, insights, and encouragement.

Research for this book is generously funded by the National Science Foundation, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the political science department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These grants made possible the fieldwork that was essential to this book.

I dedicate this book to my parents, Wei Leng and Su Zhang, who opened the world to me. Both artists, intellectuals, and veterans of China’s movie industry – a field constantly under political scrutiny – they have always defined success as personal growth and freedom. They cherished curiosity as one of the most precious human qualities, urging me to pursue the joy (and occasional shock) of learning anything and everything new, as long as it was interesting and enlightening. They instilled in me the conviction that one should not be bound by societal expectations or political constraints – for better or worse. My decision to pursue research as a career and to make a life in the United States was no accident. These paths were only possible because of their unwavering support, in every sense.

Brandon Lamson, a longtime partner and cheerleader, played a crucial role in my journey. A man of remarkable intellect and having the biggest heart I’ve ever known, Brandon taught me countless valuable life (and music) lessons and always brought me back down to earth whenever I went too far. His steady support and unwavering faith in me were essential to the completion of this book.

The animals who have been an integral part of my life growing up taught me how to be human. Over the years, my dogs and cats showered me with unconditional love and helped me see the world from an entirely different perspective – often from the ground level. It is their quiet, unspoken humanity that continues to inspire me to be a better person. In gratitude, the royalties from this book will go to nonprofit animal conservation organizations.

Writing a book – and learning about the world in the process – is incredibly fun. I am so fortunate to be able to do so.