To what extend can we compare the political regimes and societal structures of China and Russia? (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: International relations, grade: 1,0, Sciences Po Paris, Dijon, Nancy, Poitier, Menton, Havre, language: English, abstract: In 2018 China has approved the removal of the two-term limit on the presidency, effectively allowing Xi Jinping to stay in power for life. In 2020 Vladimir Putin wins a referendum to stay in power at least until 2036. These two headlines show that there are similar evolutions in China and Russia concerning their political systems. This is not the only similarity: We often hear from violations of the human rights such as the freedom of speech or of the press in China and Russia and they are both classified as authoritarian regimes in international rankings. In addition, both have a communist past which influenced their political regimes of today.
The question which arises is therefore: To what extend can we compare the political regimes and societal structures both of China and Russia?

As we wonder what similarities and what differences we encounter in both states it is important to define two terms: a) political regime and b) authoritarian tendencies. A political regime or system is a set of legal institutions with formal norms written down in the constitution and some form of government. By authoritarian tendencies we mean that the political regime tends towards an authoritarian rule. Authoritarian rule can be defined as the concentration of power in the hands of a leader that is not responsible to the parliament and that no opposition is allowed to compete for power.
To answer the key question of how comparable the political regimes of China and Russia are the Different constitutional structures as fundament of the regimes (I) and the Authoritarian tendencies with a power monopoly around the President (II) will be examined in both countries.