The PRC's new elite politics: The new institutionalism perspective

The generational change in China's elites has shifted elite politics and undermined the significance of factions as well as informal relationships, and heightened the importance of institutions in the post-Deng Xiaoping period. Consequently, the traditional factionalism model or informal politics model is no longer applicable to the new elite politics. A new perspective which focuses on institutions is needed. In the new institutionalism perspective, the increasing importance of certain institutions is formalizing China's elite politics and increasing the importance of organizations such as the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).