Asia and the Pacific
| Published date | 01 September 2010 |
| Date | 01 September 2010 |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1478-9302.2010.00217_8.x |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
employed by both sides during the course of events:
theoretical arguments based in the states’ rights and
equal protection clauses of federal law, and practical
arguments over what constituted a validly marked
ballot. Although the deficiencies of Florida’s electoral
mechanics are well covered in earlier chapters, Zelden
bases the book primarily at the bench of and in the
chambers of the Supreme Court. With a degree of
inference,Zelden engages in ‘reasoned speculation’ as to
how and why the five-judge majority in favour of
George W.Bush’s suit was formed. He draws heavily on
concurring and dissenting opinions from the Court, as
well as from subsequent legal and historical analysis.
Having done so, he posits that many of the legal and
administrative problems that brought the case before
the Court still exist – their resolution stalled by partisan
gridlock and economic restraints. The window of
opportunity for all branches of government to instigate
change, he says, was missed.
From the outset, Zelden recognises that the complex
and multi-stranded turn of events is likely to confuse
readers and, though he is forced to jump between
dates and legal stages in the course of his narrative, he
remedies any confusion with sufficient repetition of key
information and with the inclusion of a chronological
timeline at the close.The author does, at times,assume a
familiarity with legal procedures and philosophies that
could stump the historian whose existing knowledge of
the crisis is derived from the political and public rela-
tions sideshows, but it is a well-written book and the
minutiae of the case are elaborated upon and supple-
mented with references. It is an even-handed account
that recognises hypocrisy and foul play, but which does
not let them taint the wider understanding of the
Court’s involvement and decision.While Zelden’s com-
prehensive account does not strain itself in originality,it
brings context and detailed examination to a subject
clouded by scholarly confusion and political emotion.
Rob Griffiths
(Independent Scholar)
We welcome short reviews of books in all areas of
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listing of books available for review, please visit
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Asia and the Pacific
Local People’s Congresses in China: Develop-
ment and Transition by Young Nam Cho.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 191pp.,
£45.00, ISBN 978 0 521 51562 7
Based on more than a decade of work investigating
the Chinese legislative system,Young Nam Cho analy-
ses the role of Chinese local people’s congresses in the
political system and their evolution into a meaningful
political force in the reform era covered by the book.
Many scholars take it for granted that the Chinese
Communist party (CCP) forbids any kind of political
reform, merely innovating in the economic system in
order to catch up with the Western world. However,
Cho attempts to show how the CCP has been initi-
ating political reform in China since the 1990s by
analysing the development of local people’s con-
gresses. The book focuses on four key subjects.
‘It investigates two major functions of Chinese local
people’s congresses in detail: legislation and super-
vision; examines the role fulfilment of deputies to
Chinese people’s congresses; analyses relations between
Chinese local legislatures and social organisations and
delves into the uneven development of Chinese local
legislatures and the main factors that cause the differ-
ences’ (pp. 4–5).
In addition, the author argues that conventional
knowledge that suggests that Chinese local legislatures
are nothing but ‘rubber stamps’ is outdated, and that
Chinese local legislatures have strengthened their law-
making and supervisory roles since the introduction of
a market economy and legalisation policy by the CCP
at the national level.
Theoretically, Cho adopts ‘marketisation and legali-
sation’,‘actual power relations’ and ‘path dependence’ as
three new perspectives for analysing the role of local
legislatures, rather than applying the traditional
structural-functional, decision-making model and
network approaches. Methodologically, he selects three
coastal regions as case studies – the municipalities of
Shanghai and Tianjin and Guangdong Province –
stating that the ‘lawmaking functions of legislatures in
these regions have been strengthened from the early
period of the reform era in order to establish a legal
system equipped to carry out economic reforms and
attract foreign investment’ (p. 14).The data come from
440 ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
© 2010 TheAuthors. Journal compilation © 2010 Political Studies Association
Political Studies Review: 2010, 8(3)
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