Nostalgia is an important phenomenon in every historical transitional period, including during the process of democratization in non-democratic countries. However, this nostalgic inclination in a democratic transition has not been paid proper attention in previous studies. At the end of 1978, China initiated reform and opening-up to the outside and hence entered a period of liberalization, the first stage of democratic transition. This dissertation addresses nostalgia in China's reform period, focusing on examining a variety of causes leading to nostalgia, different types of nostalgia, and impacts of nostalgia in this period. My basic argument is that during China's reform period, due to a series of contradictions and conflicts in psychological, cultural, ideological, socioeconomic and political aspects, a considerable number of people reminisced about traditional values, social stability, equal distribution, comprehensive social welfare, and an "independent" international position in the pre-reform period, and hence nostalgia became an inevitable phenomenon. Different types of nostalgia have had different impacts on the reform. If reformers deal appropriately with nostalgia, some elements of nostalgic propensity can play not only negative but also positive roles in China's liberalization period. The analysis shows that six categories of factors: basic psychological factors, Chinese political culture, ideological changes, disparate distribution of reform's rewards, social disorders and anomies, and nationalism, have fostered nostalgia in China's transition period. Four types of nostalgia--authoritarian, social democratic, idealistic, and emotional nostalgia, have emerged and spread during the reform period, sharing some nostalgic ideas and feelings, but differing in their theorizing degrees and some arguments or claims. Nostalgia exerted significant influences on the reform process and the central decision-making institutions, and different types of nostalgia differently affected the reform. Authoritarian nostalgia frustrated the development of the reform, while other types played both adverse and constructive roles in the reform. Meanwhile, reactions of ruling elites to nostalgia determined substantially what effects and to what degree nostalgic tendency has had on the reform. Finally, I briefly discuss the generalizability of my arguments in the democratization process of other communist countries and lessons which liberalizers or democratizers may consider.
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