, Columnist
Why China May Never Democratize
Freedom is no longer inevitable. Nationalism is.
Unfree forever?
Photographer: ChinaPhotos/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Will China ever become democratic? That question has been a staple of geopolitical discussion since the 1990s, and at times many commentators thought a democratic China was not so far away.
Today, as restrictions on political speech and opposition increase, hardly anyone thinks this is a realistic scenario. Yet it’s still worth asking why China might never democratize, and what that can teach us about our own political dilemmas.