Political Culture of the PRC in The XXI Century Through the Prism of Official Political Discourse

Master's thesis on the topic "POLITICAL CULTURE OF THE PRC IN THE XXI CENTURY THROUGH THE PRISM OF OFFICIAL POLITICAL DISCOURSE" The master’s thesis provides the research of contemporary conditions of political culture of the PRC, its modification and how its core elements and concepts are utilized in the domestic and foreign policy discourse of the state official leaders Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping throughout the first two decades of the XXI century. In the first chapter, we examined the theoretical and methodological foundations of the research: discourse and political culture studies. Both kinds of theories are multidisciplinary and deeply intertwined with the category of language, since political power is transmitted and supported within society by discursive means. In the second chapter, the main characteristics of traditional Chinese political culture and roots are examined. We brought the systematic revision of the conceptional principles of traditional political culture of China. Another important type of political culture, which influenced Chinese history is Communist state political culture. Political culture of China is dichotomous, consisting of two main layers: official political culture (promoted by the CPC) and dominant political culture (by the masses). By the beginning of the XXI century dominant political culture had become exploited by the layer of official political culture in China. In the third chapter, the research of the contemporary system of ideological propaganda of the Communist Party of China is conducted. The study examines the political slogans promoted within political discourses of Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping: Harmonious Society, System of core socialist values, Chinese Dream, Core Socialist Values and Community of Common Destiny. Contemporary political discourse of China is the discourse of a totalitarian state, and it proves the ability of such state to exploit exactly those layers of political culture, elements of which can support and reassure the legitimacy of the CPC rule. In the fourth chapter, the research conducts the critical discourse analysis of the domestic policy and foreign policy discourses of China’s General Secretaries Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping. The results show that the CPC started to fearlessly utilize traditional culture discourse as another ideological leverage. In terms of foreign politics traditional political culture discourse helps to underpin the image of cultural uniqueness, national traditionalism and virtuousness of the Chinese state power in order to gain more loyalty internationally and pave the way to China’s global ambitions and initiatives. Key words: political culture, China, the PRC, Confucianism, traditional values, socialist values, Harmonious society, Chinese Dream, political discourse, discourse analysis.