Non-Western political systems in development: the case of whole process people’s democracy in China

The numerous political crises in leading Western countries caused an increasing demand to explore alternative ways to organize government institutions. China, in particular, has been of interest, as it introduced a new concept in 2019 called the “whole process people’s democracy” as the next stage of socialist democracy. The new concept emphasizes the importance of institutional solutions working together to strengthen the five democratic pillars of the Chinese political system: elections, consultations, decision-making, governance, and supervision. The analysis conducted by the author revealed that in practice most of the innovative changes have been related to the legislative functions of people’s congresses. Measures include involving citizens more widely in the legislation process, as well as the creation of local advisory groups, digitalization, and initiatives of “open government”. The PRC does not aim to export its model abroad, but its success challenges the dominance of the Western conception of democracy in the global discourse. Additionally, studying Chinese political institutions can serve as inspiration for developing similar mechanisms in other countries, including Russia.