Zhou Enlai: A Subordinate's Efforts to Influence the Prince [F-22-37]

Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) was a key player in the Chinese Communist Party’s rise to power and an indispensable partner to Mao Zedong. Yet for much of this time, Zhou was Mao’s subordinate, and while Zhou has garnered near unanimous admiration for his charm, experience as a negotiator and administrator, and humanity in curbing the violent excesses of Mao’s policies, he has also been criticized for being a willing implementer of Mao’s regime, and that perhaps without his help, the state might have collapsed. As Zhou’s case will suggest, examining the second or third in command is important because they may do more to institutionalize ideas, and thus their ability for creative self-preservation can profoundly impact the future trajectory of the collective.

Grace Huang is professor of Government at St. Lawrence University. She teaches comparative politics, politics of Asia, Chinese politics, and the rise of India and China. Her research interests include political leadership, the political uses of shame in Chinese leadership, and women and the work/family balance.

Link: https://www.stlawu.edu/people/grace-huang

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