"The theory of the "enabling condition" explains how favorable political conditions can facilitate economic upgrade. Through a case study comparison involving five single party, authoritarian regimes, it concludes that China's unfavorable political situation augurs ill for its ambitions to build...

Rising inequality and widespread poverty, social unrest and polarization, gender and ethnic disparities, declining social mobility, economic fragility, unbalanced growth due to technology and globalization, and existential danger from climate change are urgent global concerns of our day. These...