Stability and Change: The EU, China and Perceptions of Stability

Abstract

China has for long periods had one of the most stable systems of government in history. For much of the last two centuries, following the collapse of the Qing dynasty under internal and external pressure in the early 20th century, stability has been one of the central questions facing Chinese governments. During its history, on a continental scale Europe has never known the same degree of stability as many Chinese dynasties, although some parts of it have been relatively stable. In the last 50 years the European continent has achieved an almost unprecedented degree of political stability when compared with its own past, especially in its western part. Europeans today rarely seem to consider stability as an important political question. Chinese, by contrast, often appear obsessed by the question of stability.